Nadigar Thilagam Sivaji Ganesan Part 12

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Originally Posted by sivajisenthil

watching மருமகள். இந்தப்படத்தின் கதாநாயகர் மிக மிக வயதானவர். ஜோடி இல்லாதவர். 90 சதவீதம் படுக்கையிலேயே நோயாளியாக இருப்பவர்.
ஆனால் , படுத்துக்கொண்டேஇந்தப்படத்தை நிற்க வைத்தவர்.இக்கால ஹீரோக்களின் உடல்வாகு மறைந்து உருண்டு திரண்டு பழுத்த பழமாக தோன்றுபவர். ஆனால் படத்தின் ஆணிவேரே அவர்தான். இந்த பாத்திரத்தை உலகின் எந்த நடிகன் இவ்வளவு காந்த ஈர்ப்புடன் செய்ய முடியும்? கண்கள் குளமாகின்றன.நடிகர் திலகமே! நீங்கள் எங்கள் மனத்தில் இறவாப்புகழ் பெற்றவர்.

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Me too watching it sir, under rated gem

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Originally Posted by ragulram11

Me too watching it sir, under rated gem

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தவறு ராகுல் - இந்த படம் ஒரு gem ஆனால் under rated அல்ல

படத்தின் மொத்த நேரத்தில் சுமார் 80 சதவீதம் நேரம் நடிகர் திலகம் படுக்கையில் படுத்து கொண்டே நடித்த பாத்திரம் இடம் பெற்ற படம் - மருமகள்.

ஆயினும் கூட "நடிகர் திலகம் படுத்துக் கொண்டே ஜெயித்த" படம் - மருமகள்

மருமகள் 100 நாட்களை கடந்த அரங்கு

சென்னை - தேவிகலா.
( நன்றி : முரளி )

என்றுமே வெற்றிக்கு ஒருவன் ,, வெற்றியின் நாயகன் NT ஒருவர் தான்


வெற்றிக்கு சொந்தக்காரன் ; அந்த சொந்தத்தை என்றும் ஒரு தொடர் கதை ஆக்கியவன்

வெற்றிக்கு வெள்ளை பூசும் அந்த காலத்திலேயும் , உண்மையை உலா வரச்செய்தவன்

தோல்விகள் அவனிடம் தோற்றன ; கொடைகள் அவனிடம் யாசகம் கேட்டன

தெரிவதற்காக கொடை செய்யவில்லை - தெரிந்த பின்னும் அதை பெரிது படுத்தியது இல்லை

பலரை வாழவைத்தான் - அந்த பலரில் பல brutusகளை வளர விட்டான் - நன்றியை மறக்கவில்லை , நன்றி மறந்தவர்களை மன்னிக்க மறந்ததில்லை

அவன் படங்கள் ஒடப்பட்டவைகள் அல்ல - எல்லோர் மனதிலும் ஓட்டபட்டவைகள்

பலருக்கும் , அவர்களின் பிம்பங்களை பிரதிபலிக்கும் கண்ணாடியாக இருந்தான் - அதில் பாதரசத்தை உறிஞ்சியவர்கள் பலர்

பிறப்புக்கும் இறப்புக்கும் நடுவே இருக்கும் இடைவெளியில் ஒரு சகாப்தமாக வாழ்ந்தான் - இன்னும் வாழ்ந்து கொண்டிருக்கிறான் - இனிமேலும் வாழ்வான் -

தமிழை தந்தவன் அவன் - தேசபக்தியை தூண்டியவன் அவன் - நாமும் வாழ்ந்து கொண்டிருக்கின்றோம் அவனுக்கு ஒன்றும் செய்ய இயலாமல் ------

http://i818.photobucket.com/albums/z...ps5e5aebba.png

ஒரு சில நாட்களுக்கு பின் திரிக்கு வருகை புரிகிறேன்.

சண்டையும் சச்சரவும் சிவாஜி ரசிகர்களின் பரம்பரை சொத்து என்ற போதினும் அது அடிக்கடி இப்படி வெடித்துக் கிளம்புவது விரும்பத்தக்கது அல்ல. ஒருவரை ஒருவர் குறை சொல்லுவதை விடுத்து பாட்டுடை தலைவனைப் பற்றி அவரைப் பற்றி மட்டுமே பேசினால் இங்கே எந்த சச்சரவும் எழாது. இங்கே பங்களிக்கும் அனைவருக்கும் என் பொதுவான வேண்டுகோள் இது.

நண்பர் RKS அவர்கள் பொதுவாக இணையதள உலகத்திலே அதிலும் குறிப்பாக நமது ஹப்பிலே [மய்யம் இணையதளம்] பல்வேறு காலகட்டங்களிலே இடம் பெற்ற விளம்பர ஆவணங்கள், சாதனை நோட்டிஸ்கள் போன்றவற்றை நகல் எடுத்து bind செய்து தேவைப்படுபவர்களுக்கு கொடுக்கும் ஒரு திட்டத்தை முன்மொழிந்து அவரவர் கருத்துக்களை கூறுமாறு கேட்டுக் கொண்டிருக்கிறார். நானும் அதை பற்றி அவருடன் தொலைபேசியில் விவாதித்தேன்.

நடிகர் திலகத்தின் புகழ் பரப்பும் முயற்சியே இது என்றும் இதில் தனக்கு எந்த வித வணிக நோக்கமும் இல்லை என்பதை உறுதிப்படுத்தினார் RKS. அவரிடம் நான் ஒன்றை தெரிவித்தேன். அவர் புத்தக வடிவில் கொண்டு வர விரும்பும் ஆவணங்களையும், நோட்டிஸ்களையும், வெளிப்புற படப்பிடிப்பு செய்திகளையும், நடிகர் திலகத்தின் பேட்டிகளையும் மற்றும் நடிகர் திலகம் பற்றிய செய்திகள் அடங்கிய பத்திரிக்கை தொகுப்புகளையும் இணையத்தில் பிரசுரிக்க காரணமாக இருந்தவர்களும், அப்பேற்பட்ட ஆவணங்களை சேகரிக்க பல ஆண்டுகள் தங்கள் நேரத்தையும் உழைப்பையும் பணத்தையும் செலவழித்தவர்களுமான நமது அன்புக்குரிய பம்மல் சுவாமிநாதன், நெய்வேலி வாசுதேவன் அவர்கள் மற்றும் நமது அன்பு ராகவேந்திரன் சார் ஆகியோர்களிடம் இந்த விஷயத்தை எடுத்துக் கூறி அவர்களின் அனுமதி பெற்று இந்த காரியத்தை தொடங்குவதே முறையானதும் சரியானதும் ஆகும் என்று எடுத்துக் கூறினேன். நான் சொன்னதை ஒப்புக்கொண்ட நண்பர் RKS அவர்கள் அப்படியே செய்வதாக கூறினார். அவருக்கு என் நன்றிகள்.

இந்த விஷயத்தைப் பற்றி விவாதிக்கும்போது ஒரு சில நண்பர்கள் நமது திரியில் பதிவு செய்யப்பட்டிருக்கும் அனைத்து பதிவுகளையுமே புத்தக வடிவில் கொண்டு வர வேண்டும் என்று சொல்ல்யிருக்கிறார்கள். அவர்களுக்கும் சரி மற்றவர்களுக்கும் சரி ஒரு விஷயத்தை தெளிவுப்படுத்த வேண்டியது என் கடமை. நமது மய்யம் இணையதளத்திலே பதிவு செய்யப்பட்டிருக்கும் அனைத்து பதிவுகளின் மறு பிரசுர உரிமை அதாவது புத்தக, இணையதள,electronic format-களில் வெளியிட வேண்டுமானால் அதற்கு ஹப் அட்மினிடம் [Hub Administration] முன் அனுமதி பெற வேண்டும்.நகல்தானே எடுக்கிறோம்,bindதானே செய்கிறோம் என்று கூற முடியாது. ஆகவே அதை கருத்தில் கொள்ளுமாறு கேட்டுக் கொள்கிறேன்.

நடிகர் திலகம் பற்றிய தொடர்களோடு மீண்டும் சந்திப்போம். நன்றி!

அன்புடன்

முரளி,

சமீபத்தில் எல்லோரும் ஒதுங்கி நிற்க காரணம். மிக ஆராய்ந்து உழைத்து பதிவிட படுபவை போதிய கவனம் பெறுவதில்லை.ஒரே ஓவர்லாப் . அல்லது ஒன்றுமே வராது. உழைத்து ,திரியை அணைத்தவர்கள் என்ற விதத்தில் சிறு ஆலோசனைகள் கூட அனுமதிக்க படுவதில்லை.

மாற்றங்கள் அவசியமே. குரங்கு மனிதனாவது நல்ல மாற்றம்.ஆனால் மனிதன் குரங்கானால்?

இரு புத்திசாலிகளுக்குள் சண்டை வந்தால் ஊருக்கே கொண்டாட்டம். நிறைய விஷயம் கிடைக்கும். (திருவிளையாடல் சிவன்-நக்கீரன்). அந்த மாதிரிதான் இங்கே நடந்து கொண்டிருந்தது கொஞ்ச நாள் முன்பு வரை.

ஆனால் தற்போது ,ஒரு மூர்க்கமான சராசரிகள் ,இங்கு புத்தியே தேவையில்லை ,எதை எப்படி வேண்டுமானாலும் எழுதுவோம் ,அது எங்கள் பிறப்புரிமை என்று ஆர்ப்பரிப்பதால் நானும்,கார்த்திக்கும் ஒதுங்கி வேறு திசைக்கு போக வேண்டியதாகி விட்டது.(கார்த்திக் நிலை இன்னும் மோசம். நீ உன் நல்ல பதிவை போட்டதால் ,ஒரு சராசரி பதிவு பொலிவிழந்து விட்டது என்று வெளிப்படையான குற்ற சாட்டு. இது தலையீடு இல்லையா?)

என் வேண்டுகோள்- பழைய பதிவுகளை படித்து ,தரமறிந்து பதிவுகளை போடுங்கள்.எழுத்து பிழை,பொருட்பிழை தவிருங்கள்.என்பதே.

நீ என்ன சொல்வது? என்றால் அந்த உரிமை கூட இல்லாத ஒரு கூட்டத்தில் மூத்த அங்கத்தினன் ஆக இருப்பதில் என்ன புண்ணியம்?

dear Gopal Sir. Of the millions of NT fans all over the world...how many have come forward to interact in this hub? hardly 20 or 30? of these how many have met each other? we do not know the background, educational qualifications, positions in profession or society, contributions ....we are united merely by the link ..NT with the motto of disseminating his name and fame into the minds and hearts of generations to come. If a person thinks that he is a 'King' in one field naturally the other one has the right to think that he is an 'Emperor' in his own field. There is no one in this world who knows everything since birth. Our environment, contacts, exposure and experience with time and space,age... we are getting shaped up. No one can be under-estimated or over-estimated unless we have the opportunity to meet in person and move. I hope a formal meeting of NT hubbers may solve this problem of ego and superiority/inferiority complexes. KCS Sir can think of arranging a seminar/workshop forum for the benefit of NT hubbers and fans all over the world. We always bow to the meticulous and indelible contributions on NT made hitherto by stalwarts, thespians and doyens like you in this thread and we want to emulate from your writings. I wish to reiterate that now seniors like Gopal sir, karthik sir, Pammalar Sir, Vasudeven Sir,Murali Sir,Ragavendra sir....having reached the pinnacle of your uphill task of appraising NT's achievements, allow the novices like us to follow your footsteps, of course, with our own originality undeterred, to come up. This is time,I personally feel your goodself can divert your concentration in bringing out your book on NT in tandem with other senior and your contemporary contributors. Kindly bear with me Sir, if I hurt any one's feeling. Me too a 'moorkkamana' NT fan. Gopal Sir may be a 'Kannaa.. Neeyum Naanuma' 'barister Rajinikanth' personality but kindly dont let us perambulate like 'Pudhiya Paravai Gopal' always with turmoil and singing 'enge nimmadhi' as our swan song!

Senthil,

Why Seminars?All of you can become Members in NT Film appreciation society organised by Murali&Raghavendhar and have informal session before screening.I met most of the eminent members like Vasu,Pammalar,Murali,Ragavendhar,Sarathy,J.R,K.C.S ,Subbu in that forum only.Whenever I happened to be in chennai ,I make it a point to attend the same irrespective of my hectic schedules.You can use the existing forum and no special efforts required.I am in touch with most of them and going to get in touch with you,Ravi and Rahul shortly. All the fans are valuable to us. No Doubt. I am only trying to insist on benchmark that this thread has set up so far and considered a model thread .

Thank you Gopal Sir for your information. We want to become a part of this society. What I want is atleast once in a year we all can make our 'sangamam' and interact.

Mr Murali Sir,

It is high time you have to show some control to maintain the dignity of this thread.

Hope, you will look into it and do the corrective measure. Everyone in their own way contributing in this
thread one way or other but no one should undermine their abilities and qualities. If you could have shown
control last time it would not have happen again and again and thereby affects the smooth flow of thread.

We must appreciate the efforts put in by Mr Ravi, Mr Senthil and Mr Rahul when the thread in shambles and
it is our duty to take this thread to the higher level with the co-operation of all. You must also initiate and
start your effort to bring back the old stalwarts to contribute in this thread.

Regards

இன்று (ஜூன் 15) தந்தையர் தினத்தையொட்டி திரு.ராகவேந்திரன் அவர்களால் முகநூலில் பதிவிடப்பட்ட செய்தி.
இந்த நாளை ஆண்களை விட பெண்கள் அதிகம் கொண்டாடுவர். மகன் தாயிடமும் மகள் தந்தையிடமும் அளவற்ற பாசம் வைத்திருப்பது இயல்பு, யதார்த்தம், உண்மை. ஆண்களுக்கும் தந்தையிடம் பாசம் இல்லையென்று சொல்ல முடியாது. தாயிடம் எந்த அளவிற்கு பாசம் உண்டோ அதே அளவு தந்தையிடமும் வைத்திருப்பார்கள். ஆனால் தந்தையின் புகழ், கௌரவம், பெருமை போன்ற வற்றைப் பேணிக் காப்பதையே தலையாய கடமையாகக் கொண்டு அதில் ஈடுபடுவார்கள்.
அதே சமயம் பெண் குழந்தை தந்தையிடம் வைத்திருக்கக் கூடிய பாசம் மிக அதிகமாக இருக்கும். அதை வெளிப்படுத்தவும் தயங்க மாட்டார்கள்.
தந்தை மகள் இருவருக்கிடையையான பாசப் பிணைப்பினை நடிகர் திலகம் சிவாஜி கணேசன், நதியா இவர்களிருவரும் ஜீவனுடன் சித்தரித்திருப்பார்கள். மறக்க முடியாத திரைக்காவியம் அன்புள்ள அப்பா.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXnbMxFpT7A

நான் விரும்பி கேட்பதெல்லாம் பாத்ரூமில் பாடுவதற்கும்,பொது மேடையில் பாடுவதற்கும் உள்ள வித்யாசத்தை ,பொறுப்புணர்வை, பொது forum மற்றும் இணைய எழுத்துகளிலும் காண்பிக்க வேண்டும் என,என் தணியா விருப்பத்தையே என் பாணியில் அவ்வப்போது சொல்லி கொண்டுள்ளேன்.

நண்பர்களிடம் பேசி விளக்கி விட்டேன். இனி, நாங்கள் தேவை படும் போது , வருவோம். மற்ற படி ,புது கருத்துகளுக்கும்,மாற்றங்களுக்கும் ,வாசல் திறந்தே உள்ளது.சிறிது காலம் மதுர கானம்,ஜெமினி ,ரவி என்று இளைப்பாறி விட்டு (ஒரே இடத்தில் வாந்தி எடுத்தால் இடம் ரொம்ப அசுத்தமாகி விடாதா) பிறகு ,மனமிருந்தால் வருவோம். இல்லையென்றால் இதை கடைசி பதிவாக்கி மகிழவும்.(எவ்வளவுதான் போராடுவது,புரிந்து கொள்ள படாமலே??)

வழக்கம் போல filmography திரியில் ராகவேந்தர் சாரின் பணி சுமையை சிறிது குறைப்பேன்.மற்றோர்(மீள் பதிவு) மற்றும் என்னுடைய பதிவுகள் படம் சார்ந்து.

நிஜமாகவே பணி சுமையை நானே வலுவில் அதிக படுத்தி கொண்டுள்ளேன். சில சமயம் சனி,ஞாயிறு களும் என் வசமின்றி கழிகின்றன. இது வேறு என்னை சிந்திக்க விடாமல் மூச்சு முட்ட வைக்கிறது. இசையை பற்றி ,அது சார்ந்த மன எழுச்சி,நீட்சிகளை, நனவோடை உத்தியில் எழுதுவது (ராகங்கள் சார்ந்து)ஆசுவாசம் தருகிறது.

அணைத்த,எதிர்த்த,அணைத்து எதிர்த்த,எதிர்த்து அணைத்த உள்ளங்களுக்கு நன்றி .

அனைவருக்கும் நடிகர்திலகம் என்ற ஞான தந்தை சார்பில் தந்தையர் தின வாழ்த்துக்கள்.

Gopal Sir is on his sabbaticals! Let the other threads also be enriched by your contributions sir. We try to replenish the vacuum created, to some extent before you resume.

Sivaji Season - Song No 10 posted in Paadalgal Palavitham thread. Reproduced here for people who had not seen the other thread.

SIVAJI SEASON - MALARNDHUM MALARAADHA

மலர்ந்தும் மலராத

PAASA MALAR

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

1. Mellisai Mannar M.S. Viswanathan

2. Mr. K.Mohan – Producer of the movie

3. Mr. B.Lenin - Editor & S/o Bheemsingh

4. Mr. Aroordas - His Print & TV Interviews

5. Mr.Mohanram

SPECIAL PRANAAMAMS

உலகத்திலே ஒருவனே என உயர்ந்து நிற்கும் கலைத்தாயின் தலை மகனுக்கு தெய்வ மகனுக்கு சமர்ப்பணம்

DEDICATION

நடிகர் திலகத்தின் தீவிர(வாதி) ரசிகையும் அருமை சகோதரியுமான சாரதா அவர்களுக்கு

INTRODUCTION

A song, which can inarguably be classified as immortal. A song that has been rated as classic. A song that saw so many geniuses joining hands together. An evergreen song in the hearts of the people. A benchmark song as for as Brother – sister relationship is concerned. A song that has stood the test of time. The adjectives can be nothing but Superlatives. We can go on describing. Let us take up this song.

MOHAN –THE ARTIST

In olden days there were artists. Artists in the sense they used to draw the banners and make cutouts for the films to be placed in theatres and important locations. Nowadays with multiplexes springing up and hoardings banned, we don’t see banners or cutouts. But during those days, there were many. One such artist was Mohan and he ran a company called Mohan Arts. He basically being an artist was “drawn” into this profession and he used to take up banner writings for films. National Pictures Perumal Mudhaliar was a native of Vellore and he knew Mohan. So when he started Parasakthi, he put Mohan in charge of banners. At that time Mohan Arts was functioning at Mount Road. Near Wellington talkies, there was a small lane and nestled inside was a house with a large vacant ground. This belonged to Hyderabad estate owners and they had let it for lease and Mohan Arts was functioning there till 1979. The people would draw the banners there and it would be shifted to the respective theatres.

NT & MOHAN

NT though had started acting in films was still active in stage. He would himself be acting or would go to watch the plays. The plays were used to be staged in Otrai vaadai theatre at Elephant Gate – Waltax Road and he used to walk back all the way to Mount road and would come to Mohan Arts. He would sit there and observe the drawings. He would ask Mohan to paint his face in a presentable manner. There was a background to this. Readers should be aware that after shooting a certain portion of Parasakthi, there were some people who wanted NT to be replaced. The reason cited was his face is not presentable when he delivers the dialogue. Of course it is history that he cleared all those hurdles. So NT made it a point to visit Mohan Arts almost everyday and see for himself the banners. Even when they were doing banners for other films, NT used to go there and observe. Mohan who initially thought of this man’s intrusion as a nuisance later was attracted by this man’s down to earth nature and started developing affection for him. It was mutual and by the time Parasakthi was released, Mohan made extra efforts to make the banners look good.

With Parasakthi turning into a runaway success, NT was becoming busier and his daily sojourns to Mohan Arts started to come down and after some time it completely stopped. But the success of Parasakthi had made Mohan also busy and on a sentimental note he was asked to draw the banners for new NT films. So barring a few, all new NT films had banners drawn by Mohan Arts. With these turn of events, Mohan become so close with NT. But Mohan could not meet him daily as it was happening earlier. Mohan decided that if NT could not come, then I would go. So he started visiting NT at his home. He used to go in the morning and talk with him. If NT is very busy then he would accompany NT to the studio. He would talk with him in the car and come back once NT reaches the studio. Later his stay got extended and he was seen all along with NT. He used to take to the shooting spot drop him and come back and in the evening he would go back and pick him up so much so that NT used to always travel in Mohan’s car.

It became an unwritten rule that Mohan Arts would do the banner works for all NT movies and Mohan out of sheer affection and love for NT was finding out innovative ways of banner writings that would enhance the movie’s appeal.

MOHAN & VANANGAMUDI CUT OUT

Jupiter was a famous production company in the 1940s and 50’s. There were 4 persons who worked there as office in charge(s). They wanted to produce a film. They came out of Jupiter and formed a production company called Saravanabhava unity Pictures. They had come to NT and he agreed to do a film for them. The film was Ethirpaaradhadhu. Written by Sridhar and directed by Pulliah, it was an anti –sentiment film but it was well received by the public. It was the first Tamil film to be released in 6 theatres in Chennai and it crossed 80 days in 5 theatres and celebrated 100 days. The success of Ethirpaaradhadhu prompted them to launch their next film. It was named as Vanangamudi. There were major differences between the two films. While the first film was social, the second one was historical. Padmini was the heroine of Ethirpaaradhadhu but Vanangamudi had Savithiri.

During the shooting of the movie, this was held in hillocks in forest areas, NT while enacting a scene narrowly escaped from falling down a 150 feet slope [சிறு கதையாக முடிந்திருக்க வேண்டியவன் தப்பித்து தொடர் கதையாகி விட்டேன்]. The movie was completed and was slated for a Tamil New Year release for 1957. When the print was ready, NT saw it. Along with him Mohan was also there. The banner works had already started. After the show was over, NT asked Mohan to come along with him and on reaching home NT told him that movie is a good one but for that message to reach the audience, some innovative advertising needs to be carried out. He asked Mohan to think about it.

Mohan on reaching home was clueless. He was wondering what could be done to catch the attention of the public. He had a sleepless night and in the early morning he had a flash. He went to the Studio Lab and procured some sample negatives. In the film NT would don two get ups. One in the traditional royal family get up and another where he would come as a commoner living in the forest area. There was one pose of NT in the second get up, which attracted Mohan. He took that and went to his office. He divided that negative into 8 parts and began to sketch the same. He transformed each part to a dimension of 10 feet. It required a very huge canvass for the sketching. Once he was through with the design, he bought plywood and the sketch was transformed to the plywood. The plywood was cut as per the body shape of NT (as given in the drawing) and it measured to a height of 80 feet. Thus the first gigantic cut out for any personality any where in India was born.

Now more than the making, the job of putting up the cut out was more difficult. They transported the pieces to Chitra theatre. They found a place adjacent to the theatre. They had to support the cut out with wood logs and the saaram (சாரம்) was raised. It was to the credit of the workers that for any person who was standing in front of the cut out, they could not see the saaram. In addition they provided bulbs and electric connection to the cut out so that it was visible even in the night. Once the work was over (it was early morning) Mohan straightaway went to NT’s home and brought him to the theatre. NT was truly impressed. This news spread like wild fire and there were hoards of people who came to see the cutout and of course the movie. It was an instant hit. But to the credit of Mohan, he never charged anything from the producer for the cut out. He was happy about the appreciation he received. But there was trouble waiting for him. While everybody was singing praise for the cut out, three Government Department officials descended on him. The Chennai Corporation, Police and Fire Force departments.

For Corporation, he had not paid the tax for the place and usage. For police, he didn’t take permission to fix up the cutout. For fire services, it was compromise on safety in case of accidental fire. Mohan had to shell out for all the Departments but fire service insisted on a fire engine to be stationed there. But the person has to pay the charges for the fire engine. Mohan from his own pocket paid for the fire engine during the entire run of the movie (100 days). NT was very much pleased with him. This prompted Panthulu to hand over the works of Kattabomman and Mohan did a fabulous job of erecting fort like sets in the theatres where VPKB was released. Again that was well received.

MOHAN – THE PRODUCER

The friendship bond between NT and Mohan was rock steady and his daily visits to the studios (wherever NT was shooting) continued. One prominent personality who was watching these daily sojourns once asked Mohan to come and meet him. He asked Mohan why he is coming to the sets daily, spending petrol when he had no work there whereas he is not going to his office that was overloaded with work and where his presence is required all the time. Mohan had replied though what the other person said was correct, still he is coming due to the sheer affection and friendship extended by NT. The famous person asked Mohan whether his dear most friend would do a movie for him. He asked Mohan to check this out. Mohan left the place confused.

The next day Mohan told NT what transpired between him and the other person and straightaway asked him whether he is willing to do a movie for him. NT without batting an eyelid said yes and asked Mohan to get in touch with his brother VC.Shanmugam. Mohan met VCS and he agreed to do a film for him. He asked him to find a story and a financier. Mohan who was surprised by the quick turn of events decided to find out the financier first. He went back to the prominent personality and updated him on the developments. The other person was shocked rather pleasantly surprised and he was happy for Mohan. He promised Mohan that he would finance the project and immediately called up his accounts manager and asked him to give money whenever Mohan asked for.

Having solved the finance issue, now it was time for story searching. NT was riding a huge wave of success at that time. (Of course his success graph was always on the up). VPKB, Baagha Pirivinai and Irumbu Thirai had celebrated Silver Jubilees continuously and Maragatham, Deiva Piravi and Padikkadha Medhai were all 100-day movies. So literally producers were queuing up in front of Annai Illam. So Mohan was aware that though he has the call sheet of NT, a good story is essential for transforming the call sheet into a celluloid version.

STORY HUNTING

As most of the readers would be aware that NT was very fond of hunting. Whenever he found time, he used to go for hunting in the forests. One of his best friends was Muthu Manickam who belonged to Vettaikkaaran Pudhur near Coimbatore. NT often used to stay at his house and both of them used to go for hunting in the forests. By this time Muthu was also interested in producing a film and he was also waiting for a suitable story. So at the same point of time two friends of NT were waiting for starting their production. Everyday they used to assemble at Sivaji Films office at Besant Road, Royapettah. Many storywriters used to come there and story discussion would go on. One day they had information that Sridhar has a story in his hand. Sridhar participated in the meeting and discussed about the story knot in his mind. Everybody liked it. Who would produce it? The lot fell for Muthu. Sridhar basking in the Kalyana Parisu fame, till that time had not directed a NT movie and he was assigned to do the direction. A new banner was floated in the name of Prabhuram Pictures (incidentally Muthu’s son’s name was also Prabhu) and Vidi Velli was started.

Mohan was wondering whether he would be able to produce a movie. But his discussions at Sivaji films continued. Everyday when he got down from the car, a man would be waiting at the entrance and he would request a chance from Mohan. Initially Mohan would not even listen to what he was saying and would walk in. But this man did not lose heart. He continued to try and grab attention. Since this was happening daily, Mohan began to notice. This man was from Kerala and his name was Kottarakara. In the same Besant Street, 3 houses adjacent to Sivaji films, there lived a stage/cinema actor called Friend Ramasamy. Kottarakara was a friend of Ramasamy and he was staying there with him. He had come down to Madras to try his hand at Cinema. When Mohan checked up with the guy, it transpired that he has a story in his hand. Mohan took Kottarakara to Sivaji Films office and he narrated a story there. NT, VCS, Muthu, Mohan and host of others were there. What Kottarakara narrated was not exactly film material but NT and VCS observed that the relationship it talks about had something in it and if properly shaped up, is bound to touch the chords. They asked Mohan to buy the story rights and asked him to meet up Bheemsingh. But the man Kottarakara asked Mohan to proceed with the shooting and he did not take the money for the story. This man K.P.Kottarakara later went on to become one of the top most Malayalam producers.

BHEEMSINGH –THE DIRECTOR

Bheemsingh was emerging as the top most director of Tamil Cinema at that time. He who had a disastrous beginning had overcome that and was reeling out hits after hits. When NS Krishnan produced Panam, the second movie of NT, Krishnan Panchu in addition to Parasakthi also directed it. But as they had to exclusively concentrate on Parasakthi, they told NSK that their assistant Bheemsingh would take care of Panam. It was Bheemsingh who directed the movie Panam but due to distributors pressure (Bheemsingh being a fresher) NSK put his own name in the director’s slot. He had to wait for some more years before Ammaiyappan happened but it failed at the BO. Bheemsingh’s second film was Raja Rani. Starring NT and Padmini and written by Muka, it had splendid skits and great acting. But as it happened to many NT films, continuous films of NT getting released one after another affected the success of many deserving films and Raja Rani which was one of the 6 movies of NT in 1956 getting released within very short intervals [Yes, between Jan 14th and Feb 25th of 1956, six films got released] could not reach its desired goal. In spite of the first two films not doing well, Bheemsingh proved his mettle.

He along with some of his cinema friends like MSV and GN Velumani started Buddha Pictures and produced Pathi Bakthi and directed the same. It became a big hit and celebrated 100 days run. His next was Baagha Pirivinai, which simply dethroned all existing records and crossed 200 days. Padikkadha Medhai was again another Super hit which celebrated 100 days and when Kalathoor Kannamma also ran for 100 days, his stock had gone high and producers were more than willing to pay what he demanded. But Bheemsingh and NT shared a special bond and if it is NT, then Bheemsingh was willing to go that extra mile and it was vice-versa too. At the time of this happening (what we are discussing) NT- Bheemsingh combination was doing Paava Mannippu for Buddha Pictures.

MOVIE START UP

When Mohan came and met Bheemsingh (of course Mohan knew Bheemsingh from the days of Raja Rani), Bheemsingh was receptive to the idea. Bheemsingh also listened to the story and he also agreed that the knot is interesting. Bheemsingh had a special knack of working. He had a dedicated task force when it came to story-screenplay and dialogues and the group consisted of Irai Mudi Mani, Baasu Mani and Valampuri Somanathan. Somanathan was good in English and he used to write the screenplay in English. Added to it was M.S.Solaimalai, the aasthana storywriter for Bheemsingh. Everybody would discuss the story threadbare and Bheemsingh would instruct them to write a separate screenplay and dialogues. Then everything would be merged into one and shooting would start. In the titles, one single person’s name would appear.

In the same manner a threadbare discussion on the story had started and it was beginning to shape up. The story knot that dealt with the relationship between a brother and the sister was expanded and new characters were accommodated to make it appealing.

Aroordas was assigned to do the specific dialogue writing. The script shaped up well. Mohan was happy and he put only one condition to VCS that he wanted the call sheet of NT in one stretch. VCS was game but asked Mohan to make sure about the other artists’ call sheets. In return, NT and VCS asked Mohan to do one thing. There was one actor who had been associated with the family, Sivaji Nataka Mandram and films of NT for a very long time. He used to be a regular in all NT films. He was M.R.Santhanam. Present generation can identify him as the father of director Santhana Bharathy. VCS asked Mohan to include Santhanam as a partner in the production company. Mohan without any hesitancy accepted. The company was launched and was named as Rajamani Pictures. The company had an emblem of Rajamani ammal offering Pooja to Lord Muruga.

STORY BACKGROUND

The story opens with a boy running with medicine in his hand only to find his mother dead in their home leaving him and his younger sister as orphans. The boy nevertheless is determined to fight against the odds, goes to work in the nearby mill and supports his sister. Years go by and now Raju and Radha are grown up. Raju still works in the same mill. [The mill’s name is shown as Chinnaiah Pillai Thozhirsaalai, which is the name of NT’s father]. One day Radha is saved from an accident by Anandan, who instantly falls for her. He also works in the same mill and has unionist leanings. Anandan stays in his aunt’s house and the aunt has one son who has literally nothing to do and is trying to woo the daughter of a rich man. Anandan befriends Raju and expresses his love to Radha. Radha is of a firm opinion that her brother matters the most in her life and she will not go against his wishes. Meanwhile Anandan after informing Radha leaves for his native place as he is fighting a legal battle regarding his property,

Due to the strike, the mill is locked out. Radha who has saved some money helps her brother to set up a toy factory and it starts running successfully. On seeing this, the owner of the mill (where Raju worked) comes forward to hand over the mill to Raju. Though a little hesitant, Raju agrees to take over and within a short time, Raju now known as Rajasekar becomes one of the affluent persons in the city. Anandan after successfully winning the legal battle comes back and on learning about the developments that happened, is more than happy and goes and meets his old friend. Raju is also very pleased on seeing Anandan. But Raju is not comfortable when Anandan wants to join as an employee in the same mill. He tries to dissuade Anandan but relents on seeing Anandan firm in his demand.

Anandan and Radha meet again and they spend their time joyfully. Raju unaware of this is busy scouting alliances for his sister. He is introduced to a family that has the same brother sister combination but they insist on a reciprocal arrangement by which Raju needs to marry Malathi, a practicing Doctor. Raju tries to reason it with her brother Baskar, an engineer by profession, who is the bridegroom he had fixed up for his sister. But Baskar is firm in his stand and Raju finally agrees.

Meanwhile Radha’s birthday comes up and Anandan comes there. Raju happens to see them in close quarters and a scuffle ensues. Some workers in the mill are laid off and Anandan takes up their case with Raju. A war of words breaks out but Raju doesn’t give in and he warns Anandan. Anandan is even arrested by the police for obstructing Raju’s car but subsequently released. But the next day when Raju comes to know that Anandan has come to his house and is talking with Radha, he loses his cool and in a maddening moment picks up his revolver and rushes to the garden where Anandan and Radha are conversing. Anandan assaulted by Raju wants Radha to come with him and puts up a condition that Raju should apologise to him. Radha on hearing this denounces her love and declares that as for as she is concerned, her brother is most important than anybody else. Raju on hearing this is moved and he conducts the marriage of Anandan and Radha. Anandan’s aunt Meenakshiammal and cousin Sengalvarayan continue to stay with him in the same house where Raju stays.

Radha who accidentally meets Malathi is impressed by her and tries to get her married to her brother. Then she comes to know about what transpired earlier. She goes to their home and requests her brother. Baskar is very upset because Raju had not only gone back on his words but he had not even invited them for the marriage. Radha convinces him and the marriage of Raju with Malathi takes place and all continue to stay together. Raju is often perturbed and questions the activities of Sengalvarayan but in the best interests of keeping the joint family together decides to keep mum.

But ruffled feelings raise their head. Malathi is not very comfortable with the importance given to Radha. Anandan’s aunt who is eying the vast property, schemes mischief and creates misunderstanding between Malathi and Radha. While Meenakshiammal is caught in one particular situation, she squarely puts the blame on Radha, which angers Raju. In an ensuing war of words, situation becomes ugly with a scuffle breaking out between Raju and Anandan. Anandan decides to leave the house but Raju convinces him to stay back and instead moves out.

There comes an election in which Raju is pressurised by his well wishers and friends to contest. Anandan, a trade union leader contests against him. Raju for the sake of Radha retires from the contest. Meenakshiammal and Sengalvarayan want to usurp the entire property and they send a legal notice on behalf of Radha. A legal tangle ensues but when Raju comes to know that Meenakshiammal is physically abusing Radha, withdraws the case and transfers all the property to the name of Radha.

Both Malathi and Radha are in the family way. While Malathi delivers a male child, Radha delivers a female child. Malathi gets an admission for higher studies in a foreign country. She is reluctant to go but Raju convinces her and she leaves. Raju now all alone with only his son Selvam and the loyal servant Sankaran for company leaves for a pilgrimage. Years roll by and Raju now with his health deteriorating decides to come back and he returns to his town.

Meanwhile Radha and Anandan have been searching for Raju without success and at this point of time Raju comes home to see Radha. Meenakshiammal on recognising him turns him away. In the town, Raju saves a girl child from burn injuries as a cracker is lit and in the process loses his vision. Radha on knowing that her brother had come back, rushes to see him. Anandan who happens to overhear the conversation between Meenakshiammal and Sengalvarayan comes to know of their entire conspiracy and rushes to meet Raju. Malathi after finishing her studies also arrives.

The reunion of the brother and sister after so many years takes the story to another plane resulting in one of the most poignant climax scenes of Tamil films.

CASTING

Once the outline of the story was known, Mohan decided it would be Savithiri for the sister’s role. NT suggested that Mappilai (meaning Gemini) be booked for the “Mappilai” role. MN Rajam and MN Nambiar were drafted in as the brother-in-law and wife of NT character. Thangavelu acted as the cousin and P.S.Gnanam as the aunt of GG. M.Saroja paired opposite Thangavelu.

SCREENPLAY & NT

One of the success points of Bheemsingh was his ability to insert real life happenings into the story so that the people really felt that they are not watching a movie but living amidst a family. But this would not be forced into the story sticking like a sore thumb but instead it would be a seamless integration. Here too the tussle between the close relatives and hero walking out of the house leaving all the property was a real life happening. Even the election and withdrawal and Raju’s wife and well wishers objecting to it were taken from incidents that happened to Bheemsingh’s close circle of people. Another factor that always helped Bheemsingh’s films was logic. He would build up a scene based on logical questioning. While Raju becomes rich, it is shown that he learns English and playing of instruments like piano. Same way Meenakshiammal watches and listens to the exchanges between Malathi and Radha when Raju brings new saris for them so that she is able to plan her mischief. Even dialogues like இந்த கூர்கா எங்கே போய் தொலைஞ்சான் in the scene when Raju comes back after so many years, have a purpose because people would think how a person can simply walk in to a bungalow, though here we know that the Goorka identifies his old boss and lets him in.

Once the screenplay was ready, NT and Bheemsingh knew that this would turn out to be a great treat for the audience, as the scope for performance was huge. The hero’s character undergoes sea changes during the course of the movie. From an innocent simpleton for whom the whole world is his sister to a rich majestic businessman and then as a person who is in search of peace to finally end up as a man defeated by all, this required an actor of NT’s caliber to present it convincingly and convince he did.

NT can convey the character through body language and apt dialogue. Check the scene when he watches bemused, GG arguing with the mill supervisor on his behalf, his walk with folded hands back towards home with GG accompanying him [நீ எனக்காக முதலாளி கிட்டே இது பண்ணி பேசினியே, எனக்கு அது கூட ஒரு இதுவா தெரியலே ஆனா நீ என் தங்கச்சியை காப்பாதினேனு சொன்னியே அந்த இது தான் first class], he explaining his exact feelings about his sister [அவ சிரிச்சா நான் சிரிப்பேன். அவ அழுதா, ஐயய்யோ என்னாலே நினைச்சு கூட பார்க்க முடியலே], his total bewilderment when Savithiri tells him that she has Rs 1000/- with her, all these would bring out a simpleton in front of you.

If that is so, his second avatar of the rich majestic businessman would be a treat to watch. His gait coming down the step, his checking the time by stylishly lifting his left hand when Savithiri asks him to come home early, his demeanour while negotiating M.N. Rajam, first at the birthday party and second in the first night scene, his reaction at the factory when GG brings laid off workers, especially his holding back the anger and replying calmly but firmly (“No. I say no”), his casual, matter of fact explanation that both the saris are of same price with the only difference being colour, his diplomatic way of informing over phone that he is unable to attend the betrothal function and of course his unbeatable, unparalleled style of smoking – you never realise it is acting but instead feel you are watching a live person.

When it comes to his sister, the anger you see him is so real. His manhandling GG at the birthday party (though visuals are not shown – his gesture of kissing his fist indicating what transpired would evoke tremendous cheers), again see how immediately he reacts when GG slaps Savithiri, so natural a reaction from an affectionate brother.

The Film became the benchmark for Brother – sister relationship. How the brother feels for his sister is told in one dialogue. NT tells his son உனக்கு ஒரு தங்கச்சியே வேண்டாம். சகோதர பாசம் என்னான்னே உனக்கு தெரிய வேண்டாம்.

SHOOTING BACKGROUND

The shooting started and as Mohan wanted, the call sheets were bulk in nature. The entire indoor scenes were shot at Neptune Studio. NT’s own bungalow Annai Illam was shown as the bungalow of Raju and some scenes were also shot inside the house as one can see the front hall of Annai Illam figuring prominently with the famous elephant tusks at the backdrop. Only one song was shot in outdoors and it was Kodaikanal where Yaar yaar song and honeymoon sense were shot. On a sentimental note (as Bheemsingh would like to have it) Madurai Meenakshi temple would form the backdrop during the pilgrimage.

We saw earlier that Muthu Manickam had also started his movie and Vidi Velli by now had been released (31.12.1960) and turned out to be a 100-day movie. Paava Mannippu was on floors at this time along with other NT movies such as Ellaam Unakkaaga, Sri Valli, and Marudha Nattu Veeran, which were in various stages of production. Added to it G.N.Velumani had started Paalum Pazhamum with the same NT-Bheemsingh combo and B.R.Panthulu after the stupendous success of Kattabomman had launched Kappalottiya Thamizhan. So Mohan was aware that he had to use the call sheets judiciously, lest he would be caught napping,

QUEEN’S VISIT TO MADRAS

At this point of time (Feb 1961), Queen Elizabeth‘s visit to India was planned and Madras was also included in the itenary. Tamilnadu under Perunthalaivar Kamaraj’s rule was making fast industrial progress and Avadi- Ambattur belt was developing into a manufacturing hub. So many big and small industries were being set up and to cap it all, the Integral Coach Factory and Heavy Vehicles factory were set up. So a visit to the ICF was planned and included in Queen’s tour. The Queen, it was decided, would stay in governor’s place at Guindy and would travel to Perambur- Avadi via the city and would pay a visit to ICF. The State government wanted welcome arches to be set up throughout the route in honour of the Queen. Government officials scrutinized the list of artists and zeroed on Mohan and his Mohan Arts because he was one of the most experienced persons in the field.

Under normal circumstances, Mohan would have said yes without even thinking twice. But here he was deep into film production engaging the busiest artists and technicians of the Tamil film world and he shuddered to think of the financial burdens he would have to bear in case of call sheets being wasted and shooting schedules going astray. But NT and Bheemsingh realizing the importance of Queen’s visit asked him to accept the job and assured him that shooting would not stop just because he was not there.

They kept their word and M.R.Santhanam took care of the production schedule. Mohan free from the tension went and did a commendable job. Totally 102 arches were put up throughout the entire stretch of the route welcoming the Queen. Mohan recalls that the personal guards of the Queen came one day in advance and checked the strength of the arches by even climbing on the top of the arches. They gave a go ahead signal and Queen was more than happy to see the arches and Mohan was called to Delhi later and received a memento from the President for the excellent job.

CLIMAX – CONCEIVING & EXECUTION

Now coming back to the movie, shooting was progressing with the well oiled team of director-screenplay writers-dialogue writer –artists making it a smooth pair. Though it was decided that the end would be a tragic one, there were differences regarding whether it should be the brother alone or sister also needs to die. While most of the people (connected with the screenplay) wanted the brother alone to sacrifice, few were for both of them passing away and this few included Bheemsingh. The detractors were arguing with him that it would look illogical for the sister to die along with the brother and such an ending would adversely affect the success of the movie but Bheemsingh was confident that this ending would definitely make the necessary impact.

But they had not decided finally and the rest of the portions were being shot. Suddenly one event happened that firmed up the decision of Bheemsingh. Jupiter was one of the biggest production houses of Tamil Film world and Somu was the owner of the company. He fell ill and suddenly passed away. The film world received the news with shock and before they could recover from it, Somu’s daughter so much attached to her father and so much affected by his death also passed away. Though this was a shocker to Bheemsingh and unit, this real life happening enhanced their stand that twin tragedy would work.

Before the climax, NT had discussions with Bheemsingh regarding the mode of execution but nothing was finalized as many suggestions came up. On the previous day after the shooting was over, NT asked Mohan to come early in the morning to pick him up and left. Mohan as told reached Annai Illam early in the morning only to face an agitated Kamala Ammal. On enquiring she told Mohan that NT had not slept the previous day and instead he was watching English movies till early morning and then he had started walking around the bungalow till early morning.

NT after a bath was ready and they reached the studio before anybody could come. He told Mohan that he is not going to eat anything and said that he is going to lie down and asked Mohan to ask Bheemsingh to wake him up once the shot was ready. Earlier NT had discussed the climax with Aroordas and he told him to think differently. In the sense he didn’t want a lengthy scene or long dialogues but instead it should touch the viewer’s heart. The hero is physically and mentally shattered and he has forgotten what happiness is. The same applies to her sister. So when they meet up after a very long time naturally their thoughts would revolve round the happiest memories they shared and for every human being, their childhood is the happiest period. So hero talks about childhood memories. When this was discussed Aroordas talked about Kai veesamma dialogue. Though it didn’t look great while discussing, what an impact it created on the public wonders Aroordas.

NT had told VCS not to send any person from the office to him during that day. Though VCS was looking after the office administration, the powers of signing in cheques and important documents vested with NT. So it was a common sight in the sets with some one from Sivaji films coming in for getting signatures. He had also instructed that if anything needs to be conveyed, it should come through Aroordas.

Bheemsingh and Savithiri came to the set. According to the screenplay, Savithiri should be more emotional because she is seeing him after so many years and more over the news that he has lost his vision shatters her. Aroordas as per the trend during those times had written a dialogue steeped in edugai monai. வைரம் போல் ஜொலித்து வைரிகளையும் வசீகரிக்கும் உங்கள் கண்கள் எங்கே அண்ணா? Here வைரிmeans opponent, எதிரி . When the camera started rolling, Savithiri simply transformed herself as Radha and gave a splendid performance. The whole unit was mesmerized. But Savithiri from the face of Aroordas found out that he is not fully happy and asked him the reason. He replied that her performance was so good but she missed out one dialogue. She spoke “வைரம் போல் ஜொலித்து விரோதிகளையும் வசீகரிக்கும் உங்கள் கண்கள் எங்கே அண்ணா?” where the vairi had become Virodhi. Though both mean the same, Aroordas wanted one more take. This time Savithiri correctly said but her performance was not like the first and so they decided to keep the first take and Virodhi was retained.

The climax was short but the effect it had on the audience was so great that it is highly doubtful whether any other film had made a greater impact than this. Radha asks Raju about his vision whereas Raju talks about their childhood. He is emotional and says அப்போ எனக்கு பத்து வயசு. உனக்கு ஒரு வயசு. உன்னை இடுப்பிலே தூக்கி வச்சுகிட்டு கை வீசம்மா கை வீசு கடைக்கு போகலாம் கை வீசு மிட்டாய் வாங்கலாம் கை வீசு, after saying this he breaks down. It was not only he, but also the majority of the audience did the same. Irrespective of whether one was man or woman, whether rich or poor, whether they had a brother/sister or not, the emotions were the same for everyone. In fact it is a common refrain to hear the older generation say that they cried while watching Paasa Malar.

When the climax scene was completed both the artists were drained completely. In fact Savithiri twice fell down unconscious and the family Doctor of NT who was called up stayed back in the set till the shooting was over. Savithiri was given injections and it transpired that she had also kept awake all night for this scene. What a dedication from both the artists. Not for nothing they are called Nadigar Thilagam and Nadigaiyar Thilagam.

SONGS COMPOSITION

Let us come back to our subject. All the songs were written and then tuned. That added to the beauty of the songs.

Now as a default it was Kannadasan and VR for the songs. Bheemsingh had this habit of marking out the situations where the songs need to be introduced in the screenplay itself. Moreover he used to tell the story at the very outset to the Kannadasan –VR combo for he felt it would enable them to tune themselves with the story and well he was able to hit the bull’s eye every time. The songs went like this.

1. மலர்களை போல் தங்கை உறங்குகிறாள் – a sequence where the brother dreams about the happy futuristic life of his sister. You can read the dreams in NT’s eyes. The way he expresses them. Especially when Savithiri prostrate before him, the way in which he wipes his tears. Kannadasan was at his prime and one sample will do

பூ மனம் கொண்டவள் பால் மனம் கண்டாள்

பொங்கிடும் தாய்மையில் சேயுடன் நின்றாள்

2. எங்களுக்கும் காலம் வரும் - a song where NT and Savithiri sing inside their factory manufacturing dolls. Again NT and Savithiri would bring out the innocent characters to the fore.

3. யார் யார் யார் அவள் யாரோ– the duet between GG and Savithiri.

The only outdoor song and again Kannadasan would be at his best. In fact his lines would depict the pattern what decades later was called Pudhu Kavidhai
நினைவில் மயங்கும் பொருளானாள்

நிலவில் மயங்கும் இருளானாள்

And then the last charanam where he beautifully describes the heroine with verbal adjectives.

அஞ்சனம் கொண்டாள் நகை கொண்டாள்

அச்சம் நாணம் மடம் கொண்டாள்

மஞ்சள் குங்குமம் மலர் கொண்டாள்

மனதை சேர்த்து ஏன் கொண்டாள்

4. வாராய் என். தோழி வாரோயோ – the song during the marriage of GG- Savithiri.

Mr.Manisegaran had written a superb article in this same topic. Nothing more to add except to say that it is LR Eswari’s first solo song. Watch NT’s reaction.

5. பாட்டொன்று கேட்டேன் – the song at the birthday function of MN Rajam and when you watch this you know what is style and grace. It is personified here.

6. மயங்குகிறாள் ஓர் மாது– the song that comes during the first night of NT- MN Rajam. As I said earlier specially to be watched for NT’s reaction. To borrow a phrase from what Vairamuthu said ஒரு சிங்கம் வெட்கப்பட்டு பார்த்திருக்கிறீர்களா? இதில் பார்க்கலாம்

THE SONG COMPOSITION

Now coming to the song. The song in discussion and the background news. As it happened to many classic songs, this song was thought of only after some shooting had taken place. All the songs are over before and just after the half way mark. Second half was heavily loaded with emotions and the talk of relief through a song was discussed. But Bheemsingh didn’t want to dilute the impact but at the same time he also agreed a song should be included and thus the duet between the brother and sister came up. Kannadasan came down to write the song. VR asked him to write the lyrics first after Bheemsingh explained to him the situation where it needs to be inserted. It is actually not a situational song. After M.N.Rajam flies out to a foreign country both the brother and sister holding their infants in their hands sings a lullaby song, where the past, present and future merge and Kaviarasar simply did it seamlessly. The Pallavi and anu pallavi simply came with a speed of bullet it seems.

மலர்ந்தும் மலராத பாதி மலர் போல வளரும் விழி வண்ணமே

வந்து விடியும் விடியாத காலை பொழுதாக விளைந்த கலை வண்ணமே

நதியில் விளையாடி கொடியில் தலை சீவி நடந்த இளந்தென்றலே; வளர்

பொதிகை மலை தோன்றி மதுரை நகர் கண்டு பொலிந்த தமிழ் மன்றமே

Viswanathan tuned it within 3, 4 attempts. Similarly Kannadasan in great mood was unstoppable and the charanams also flowed and within a matter of minutes he had written the lyrics for the entire song. VR with a soulful tune completed the song. Now Bheemsingh wanted MSV to sing the song. MSV didn’t understand the reason behind it. Bheemsingh while MSV was singing the first charanam interrupted and suggested it would add up to the feel if the last lines were repeated. The charanam was like this

யானை படை கொண்டு சேனை பல வென்று ஆள பிறந்தாயடா

புவி ஆள பிறந்தாயடா

அத்தை மகளை மனம் கொண்டு

இளமை வழி கண்டு

வாழ பிறந்தாயடா

வாழ பிறந்தாயடா

Bheemsingh suggested that the line before the last be repeated and MSV felt it was a good suggestion. In the same manner it was decided that the second charanam, which the sister sings, would also be of the same pattern.

RECORDING

During the recording, MSV taught the song to TMS and PS and told them that in the charanam the words have to tremble like it would appear when one sings while crying. TMS and PS the geniuses they are did a splendid job. Especially the soft rendering, the pause, the fumble were captured beautifully. PS went one step ahead. As the female voice cries openly, the sob she gave before the final line உலகை விலை பேசுவார் was so stirring that many had their kerchiefs wet. Even the technicians, who normally don’t emote, they having seen such types day in day out were visibly moved.

SONG PICTURISATION

The song shooting was done separately for NT’s portion and separately for Savithiri’s portion. Though they never saw how the other is performing, they being NT and NT simply excelled. If Savithiri scored in the first charanam where she sobs in front of NT’s portrait (a poetic, classic close up shot of NT’s portrait facing the camera with Savithiri standing in front of it), in the final charanam NT by simply lying down on a mat with his eyes focused on the ceiling and lip syncing [with two top angle shots]

கண்ணில் மணி போல மணியின் நிழல் போல

கலந்து பிறந்தோமடா

would steal the show.
.
MOVIE NAME

The movie was not named till it was more than 75% complete. While composing was going on for மலர்ந்தும் மலராத, this came up. Kannadasan enquired and somebody told him it is tentatively named as அண்ணனுக்கு துரோகம் செய்த தங்கை. Kannadasan could not control his laughter and commented ஆயிரம் தலை வாங்கிய அபூர்வ சிந்தாமணி மாதிரி சொல்றே . Mohan at that time asked Kannadasan why don’t he give a name to the film for which Kannadasan replied he would do, provided he is paid for that. Mohan accepted and said that if he can give a name, which is acceptable to all, he would give Rs 500/- for the title. Kannadasan came up with Paasa Malar and everybody was happy. Mohan paid him the money.

But some in the industry were skeptical and questioned Bheemsingh about this. முல்லை மலர், அனிச்ச மலர் தெரியும். அதென்ன பாச மலர்? And they doubted whether the common man would understand? When Bheemsingh brought up this to Kannadasan, he replied அந்த மலரெல்லாம் வாடிடும். ஆனா இந்த பாசத்திலே விளைந்த மலர் இருக்கே அது என்னிக்கும் வாடா மலர். காலா காலத்திற்கும் நிலைச்சிருக்கும். How prophetic he turned out to be?

To assure Bheemsingh, Kannadasan wrote a song and asked him to include it while the titles are shown. This would clear all doubts. The song is

அன்பு மலர் ஆசை மலர்

இன்ப மலர் நடுவே

அருளோடு மலர்வதுதான்

பாச மலரம்மா

CENSOR HICKUPS

The film after completion was sent for censor. Sastry an upright officer was the chairman. He was there when Paava Mannippu was censored 2 months before this. That was a ticklish subject dealing with all religions but Bheemsingh had done an excellent job of not hurting anyone.
Only in the song வந்த நாள் முதல், Sastry had objections to two lines. The first one was the last line of Pallavi

மனிதன் மாறி விட்டான்

மதத்தில் ஏறி விட்டான், the last line மதத்தில் ஏறி விட்டான் was made silent.

The second change was in the charanam

எதனை கண்டார்

மதம்தனை படைத்தார்

and instead of மதம்தனை படைத்தார் it was changed to பணம்தனை படைத்தார்.

Here in Paasa Malar he was not comfortable with the வாராய் என் தோழி வாரோயோ lyrics in the last charanam

மலராத பெண்மை மலரும்; முன்பு

தெரியாத உண்மை தெரியும்

மயங்காத கண்ணும் மயங்கும் முன்பு

விளங்காதகேள்வி விளங்கும்

இரவோடு நெஞ்சம் உருகாதோ

இரண்டோடு மூன்று வளராதோ

but later gave in, stating that அர்த்தத்தை பார்த்தா கட் பண்ண தோணுது ஆனா தமிழை பார்த்தா விட்டு விட தோணுது and he left it untouched.

RELEASE & SUCCESS STORY

Bheemsingh had one peculiar sentiment. He would always take the 7th reel from the 7th Print and take it Tirupathi for Pooja, as he was a staunch devotee of Lord Venkateswara (remember he taking NT to Tirupathi?). The film’s release date has been announced as 27th May of 1961 and reservation had started in Chennai theatres. This time due to the last minute delay in censoring, the prints could be readied only in the previous night. Mohan had to deliver all the prints to the respective distributors and it was morning 5 am of 27th May when he could start the journey to Tirupathi. Mohan says that he had never traveled so fast in a car. Incidentally he had taken the print meant for Chitra Talkies in Chennai as it was nearby his office (Wellington, Mount Rod). The crowds were mammoth and the Chitra theatre manager couldn’t decide whether to issue the tickets for the 3 pm show, as he had not received the print. During those days there was no way one could contact persons who were traveling. Finally Mohan came at 2.45 pm with the print.

The movie started and people were simply absorbed in to the film. Once the movie was over Mohan came out and tried to speak to the ladies. The entire crowd was silent and the ladies were simply having their faces down. Mohan followed some but couldn’t start a conversation. Finally he stopped a group who seemed to be educated middle class persons and when Mohan asked them about the movie, a lady looked up and her face was swollen and her eyes red and uttered இப்படி எங்க மனசையெல்லாம் கஷ்டப்படுத்தி அழ வச்சுடீங்களேய்யா and walked away. Mohan could not gauge the exact reaction even then. He came back to office and put up trunk calls to Madurai and Tiruchy. There too the same type of reactions had been experienced. Only during the night show and the next day morning he could realize that they had indeed hit the jackpot. Only after this another feeling sunk in. He felt very hungry and then realized he had not taken any food for the past 3 days because of this preoccupation and was consuming only liquids without even realizing it. The movie went on to celebrate Silver jublie, the second NT film to do so in the calendar year 1961, the first one being Paava Mannippu. Not only that this movie bagged the best Tamil film award in the National Film Awards for the year 1961.

Mohan went and met the prominent personality who had financed him and gave back the entire money along with interest he had taken. Though the personality asked him to keep it and use it for future projects, Mohan declined the offer and gave back the money and thanked him for the help rendered.

While the movie brought accolades for the lead actors, it brought equal brickbats for one person. She was P.S.Gnanam, who enacted the role of GG’s aunt Meenakshiammal. After the release, she couldn’t even go out as the entire Thaikulam started abusing her wherever she went. When Mohan invited her for the jublie celebrations, she refused to come and only on persuasion, she came reluctantly. Mohan recalls that she used to apologise initially at all stages.

SIGN OFF

My personal first experience with this movie was only in 1970 at Madurai – Chandra (later named as Shanthi and now defunct) and the tragic feel struck me more than anything else. As years rolled by and with repeated viewings, I was able to savour the nuances of the film. People may feel that enough has not been said about the song and it’s rendering but what can I say except to state that it is

இருபதாம் நூற்றாண்டின் இணையற்ற கவிஞர் எழுதி

இருபதாம் நூற்றாண்டின் இணையற்ற இசையமைப்பாளர்கள் இசையமைத்து

இருபதாம் நூற்றாண்டின் இணையற்ற பாடகர்கள் பாடி

எந்த நூற்றாண்டிலும் ஈடு இணையற்ற நடிகர்கள் நடித்த

இந்த பாடல் காட்சியை விட சிறப்பானது தமிழ் சினிமாவில் வந்திருகிறதா என்ன?

One thing is damn sure. The last lines in the last charanam aptly sum up the commonly held opinion about the film and the song.

இந்த மண்ணும் கடல் வானும் மறைந்து முடிந்தாலும்

மறக்க முடியாதடா;

Regards

SIVAJI SEASON - MALARNDHUM MALARAADHA

மலர்ந்தும் மலராத

Here is the lyric

மலர்ந்தும் மலராத பாதி மலர் போல வளரும் விழி வண்ணமே

வந்து விடியும் விடியாத காலை பொழுதாக விளைந்த கலை வண்ணமே

நதியில் விளையாடி கொடியில் தலை சீவி நடந்த இளந்தென்றலே; வளர்

பொதிகை மலை தோன்றி மதுரை நகர் கண்டு பொலிந்த தமிழ் மன்றமே

(மலர்ந்தும் மலராத)

யானை படை கொண்டு சேனை பல வென்று ஆள பிறந்தாயடா

புவி ஆள பிறந்தாயடா

அத்தை மகளை மனம் கொண்டு

இளமை வழி கண்டு

வாழ பிறந்தாயடா

வாழ பிறந்தாயடா

அத்தை மகளை மனம் கொண்டு

இளமை வழி கண்டு

அத்தை மகளை மனம் கொண்டு

இளமை வழி கண்டு

வாழ பிறந்தாயடா

தங்க கடியாரம் வைர மணியாரம் தந்து மணம் பேசுவார்

பொருள் தந்து மணம் பேசுவார்

மாமன் தங்கை மகளான மங்கை உனக்காக

உலகை விலை பேசுவார்.

உலகை விலை பேசுவார்

மாமன் தங்கை மகளான மங்கை உனக்காக

உலகை விலை பேசுவார்

மாமன் தங்கை மகளான மங்கை உனக்காக

உலகை விலை பேசுவார்

(நதியில் விளையாடி --)

சிறகில் எனை மூடி அருமை மகள் போல

வளர்த்த கதை சொல்லவா

கனவில் நினையாத காலம் எமை வந்து பிரித்த கதை சொல்லவா

பிரித்த கதை சொல்லவா

கண்ணில் மணி போல மணியின் நிழல் போல

கலந்து பிறந்தோமடா

இந்த மண்ணும் கடல் வானும் மறைந்து முடிந்தாலும்

மறக்க முடியாதடா; உறவை

பிரிக்க முடியாதடா.

அன்பே ஆரிராராரோ ஆரிராராரோ ஆரிராரிரோ

அன்பே ஆரிராரிரோ

Regards

dear Murali Srinivas. Impressive water mark narration on Paasamalar, the bench mark movie depiction of affection between a brother and sister. Times are changing widening the generation gap but the reference phrase 'Periya Paasaamalar Sivaji-Savithri....' would never change! More than this movie...whenever I think of Paasamalar...NT's most famous signature pose ... his cheek in palm with a deep thinking..pops up! For me this portrait is what Monolisa conveys to others!

Murali Srinivas,

Thanks a lot for this 'Malarnthum Malaratha' post. Superb writing!!! A fantastic article!!!

முரளி சார்
உங்கள் எழுத்துகள் படிப்போரின் உள்ளத்திலே காட்சிகளை அப்படியே கொண்டு நிறுத்தி விட்டன
காலையில் ஒரு தடவை படித்தேன் . மதியம் லஞ்ச் hour போது படித்தேன்
இப்போது ஒரு தடவை படித்தேன்
உங்களை புகழ்ந்தால் அது வெறும் சம்பிரதாய வார்த்தைகள் ஆகி விடும்
மீண்டும் பல முறை இந்த போஸ்டை படிபதுதான் உங்களுக்கு உண்மையான வாழ்த்து
நடிகர் திலகத்திற்கு வாழ்த்து

http://i60.tinypic.com/29zbhg7.jpg

esvee sir
"வெள்ளிகிழமை ராத்திரி நேரம்
கல்கத்தாவில் நடந்தது ஒன்று
ஊர் எங்கும் பேர் பெற்ற திருடன் பிடிபட்டான் "
என்ற பாடலின் ஸ்டில் தானே சார் இது

dear Subramaniam Ramajayam. Thanks for your appreciations. Kindly resume to postings as this thread is going to reach its irreversible plastic limit from its elastic limit. Seniors like you have to grace this thread rather than remaining silent spectators or in a gestation period.
dear ravi, ragul and CK please we stand unshaken as the threads are no man's lands and we have our right to post. Please resume with your contributions, that were going in a different line of thought

A Lesson in Gratitude from the Movie Maestro Sivaji Ganesan by Sachi Sri Kantha - Courtesy Net

It is always enchanting and heart-warming to read and listen to real life events, which are educational at any time to individuals of all age ranges.

In this spirit, towards the end of the year, I provide the following two anecdotes from the life of Tamil movie legend, Sivaji Ganesan (1928-2001). In these two anecdotes, Sivaji Ganesan had taught to many, what is gratitude and why it deserves recognition and popularisation.

The first anecdote was from a memoir book about the Tamil movie world which I read recently, It was authored by distinguished Tamil movie script writer Aroordhas, who had known personally and professionally Sivaji Ganesan for decades.

The second anecdote was oral history I heard in Colombo three decades ago from one of my music mentors,violinist Vannai G.Shanmuganantham.

Both anecdotes have a few inter-linking threads. The oral story I heard around 1975 neatly gelled with the written story which I read recently.
Sivaji Ganesan and his tutor K.D.Santhanam [written story]

Sivaji with Aroordhas

Renowned script writer and director Aroordhas (born 1931) has a five decade track record in Tamil movie history. His stage name Aroordhas is a clipped version of his full village cum personal name of Tiruvaroor Aarokiyadhas. His memoir book, Naan Muham Paartha Cinema Kannadigal [The Cinema Mirrors I have Looked At; Kalaignan Publishers, Chennai, 2002, 224 pages] carries a delightful collection of anecdotes on the personalities who moved the movie world of South India. I was rather touched by a reminiscence provided by Aroordhas on Sivaji Ganesan in section 18 of the book (pages 109-113). I provide my English translation of this entire section below.

“The Madurai Mangala Bala Gaana Sabha was a drama troupe managed by Ethaartham Ponnusami Pillai of Thiruvathavoor, Madurai. This troupe stationed themselves in Tiruchi and conducted dramas at the Thevar Hall.

From Sangili Aanda Puram, a boy aged 6 or 7 had joined this drama troupe with his friend, a neighbor’s son. In this drama troupe, there was a Tamil tutor (Vaathiaar) who taught drama and Tamil to the young charges. He was short in stature and was extremely strict. With or without sense, this tutor punished his young charges by cane beating, even for smallest errors. Because of this, the young boys had their bowel leaks, when they saw or even dreamt about this extreme disciplinarian cum tutor. In their dreams, he appeared like a charging lion.

Contd....

But that Tamil tutor had a great gift. He could compose beautiful, rhyming Tamil songs based on poetic grammar. One day, at the stage, that boy from Sangili Aanda Puram was acting in the role of a young widow. And by carelessness on that day, he was wearing a blouse. This had been noticed by that disciplinatrian tutor.

In that era, wearing blouse by widows was rather inappropriate according to societal norms. At the end of the scene, that Tamil tutor harshly gave a cane beating to that young boy; ‘Can’t you be so careless and unrealistic in your profession?’ was the complaint against that young boy.

Guess who was that young charge, who received such a beating? Maestro Sivaji Ganesan. Who was that cane-loving tutor? My most respectful and admired elder and great poet, K.D.Santhanam (S).

43 years ago, during the shooting of the movie ‘Pasa Malar’, I met elder K.D.S. at the old Neptune Studio and paid my respects. In that movie, when Sivaji Ganesan (the hero) becomes rich, he is met by a character named ‘Rajaratnam’. KD.Santhanam played that character.

That young charge V.C.Ganesan never forgot about, in his illustrious career, from whom he received the cane-beating and from whose beating he learnt the alphabets of acting and Tamil diction. It was he, after establishing his fame in the movie world, who recommended his harsh disciplinarian tutor for that particular character in his great movie.

During the shooting days, Sivaji would be seated outdoors near the shooting floor with crossed legs and be in conversation with me, while having a cigarette in his lips. Then, elder K.D.Santhanam would occasionally pass us from the make-up room towards the shooting floor. At the instant when Sivaji sees his old tutor, he would dutifully stand up in respect, and hide the cigarette behind his back. Though noticing that homage silently, the old tutor K.D.S. pretend ignoring us and with bowed head pass us quietly.

It would touch my heart, when watching that simple, elegant and meaningful respect Sivaji paid for his old tutor. What a class! What a grateful protégé! I mention this anecdote because the younger generation should be informed of this humility and gratitude shown by maestro Sivaji.

Once, after K.D.S. had passed us and went beyond the listening distance, Sivaji sat back and told me: ‘Aarooran! On this Santhanam tutor (Santhana Vaathi) who passed us. The amount of beating I got from him isn’t a few. During dance training (when a step is missed for a beat), during dialogue training (when a word is missed), he beat us severely! Oh Mother – He’d chase and chase us and beat us! Even when he went to the toilet, he carried his cane. Now he is passing us like a young girl with head turned towards the floor. Even when I thought about him in those days, I’d shiver.’

I asked him jokingly: ‘Then, why did you recommend him for this role?’

[Sivaji said] ‘You don’t know. Because of those beatings I received from his hand, I’m now sitting comfortably like this as Sivaji Ganesan. When I joined the drama troupe, I was a zero. From him only, I learnt how to speak dialogue and how to act. Do you know, what a classy Tamil poet he is? What a poetic touch he carried in his hands? The songs he wrote for the Ambikapathi [1957] movie I acted: Ah! What sweet Tamil, and what lilting rhythm! I tolerated all those beatings because of his blessed Tamil knowledge. Otherwise, I’d have quit the troupe and ran back to my home during any one of those nights.’

Later, when elder K.D.S. was alone at the shooting floor, I approached him and politely mused;

“Elder Sir, I’ve heard that you gave severe beating to Sivaji Annan in his young days.’

[K.D.S.] ‘Oh! He has told you about that. Oh! That was in those days. Now I’m becoming senile. I cannot remember your script now. Not only that, when Thambi Ganesan stand in front of me, shouldn’t I look at his face and deliver my dialogue? When I look at him now, I’m getting nervous! Because of that, can you prepare me for my dialogue by repeating your script not once but four times? It may be a bother. Kindly oblige.’

How Time did change? The same great tutor who taught dialogue to Sivaji Ganesan in his young days, with disciplinary cane at his hand, now he feels nervous to stand in front of his illustrious protégé, and ask me to prepare him well for a scene in which he faces his protégé.”

When I read these pages from Aroordhas’s book, I was touched by three inter-twined elements;

(1) a thankful protégé’s devotion to an extremely strict, but sincere, mentor,

(2) repayment of intellectual debt by an esteemed protégé, and

(3) the mentor’s heart-felt pride on the grade made by his protégé.

What Sivaji Ganesan said of the touching poetic feel of his mentor K.D.Santhanam was no exaggeration. The 16 lines of that one sweet melody in the Ambikapathi [a historical love yarn set in the 12th century Chola Kingdom, along the lines of the more popular Romeo-Juliet story] movie, beginning with the lines ‘Kannile Iruppathenna Kanni Ila Maane’ and sung by P.Bhanumathi as well as T.M.Soundararajan were from the fertile mind of K.D.Santhanam.

Sivaji Ganesan and his boyhood pal E.Subbiah Pillai [oral story]

Around the time [in 1961 or 1962] when his signature movie Pasa Malar was released, Sivaji Ganesan visited Colombo. I heard the following story from my mentor Vannai G.Shanmuganantham, around 1975, who was an eye-witness.

E.Subbiah Pillai

At a cultural function held at the Saraswathie Hall, Bambalapitiya, Sivaji Ganesan was the guest of honor. With his roving eye, he had a glance at the orchestra performing at the side of the stage. During intermission, he rushed to the orchestra team and stood in front of the clarinetist E.Subbiah Pillai, who was calm and composed. With stretched hands, Sivaji greeted him, “Neenga Subbiah Annan ille” [Aren’t you Subbiah elder?]. The clarinetist softly responded in the affirmative. Then, Sivaji immediately hugged his long-lost boyhood pal, and was overcome with emotion. The words fumbled from his mouth.

“Anne! Suhama irukeengala? Eppavo, Ceylonukku oodi poonatha sonnanga. Athukappuram, oru sethiyum kiddaikale.” [Brother, are you keeping fine? Those days, I heard that you have run to Ceylon. After that, I didn’t hear any news about you.]

Then only it became known to the fellow members of that orchestra team that Sivaji Ganesan [a junior] and Subbiah Pillai [a senior] were boyhood pals in a boys drama troupe, and one day [partly because of the disciplinary tactics of their tutors and partly because of the lure provided by a sea-crossing trip to Ceylon], Subbiah Pillai had moved to Ceylon without announcing his decision to his then clique. Thus, the pals became separated.

In the intervening 25 years or so, while Sivaji Ganesan became a famous movie star in Chennai, Subbiah Pillai established himself as a clarinetist in the Radio Ceylon artiste. Subbiah Pillai, as a senior to Sivaji Ganesan, might have taught a few ‘steps’ in the art world then, to the talented rookie. Sivaji never forgot the face of his senior.

I personally knew Subbiah Pillai ‘Master’ in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In fact, for my flute debut performance [Arangetram] held on December 3, 1971, at the Bambalapitiya Sammangodu Vinayagar Temple, my mentor T.P.Jesudas honored him by requesting him to ‘keep the Talam [rhythm keeper]’ in front of me.

Then, after I entered the university, due to demands on time, I lost much contact with those older generation of musicians. One day [before I heard this Sivaji Ganesan anecdote from violinist Shanmuganantham Master] I received the news with shock that Subbiah Pillai ‘Master’ had died in Jaffna hospital, following a medical misadventure after an operation. Even now, I get a lump in my throat when I think about the calm and composed Subbiah Pillai Master – a senior to Sivaji Ganesean of old drama troupe days - who was the only clarinetist I knew in Colombo in those days.

"If there was a matinee idol in the realms of Indian cinematic history who received as much accolades and an equally strong bout of criticism for his histrionic abilities, it was Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan. Given that he never achieved the national status that he deserved perhaps is a reflection of the complexities of the language of his mother tongue that required strong grammar, poetic undertones and louder decibels for dialogue delivery. Film critics and audience forming the majority in the North of the Vindayas who were used to the much softer, subtle shayaari and ghazals perhaps found it difficult to applaud Sivaji’s daredevilry in characterization of roles he depicted in his film career. Perhaps if he were to be born out of the Dravidian State and culture, there would have been a national consensus that he was the greatest actor Indian cinema ever produced.

It is indeed a misfortune to know that Mr. Nehru pleaded ignorance of the actor when President Nasser of Egypt enquired dearly about him after seeing his stellar performance in “Veerapandia Kattabomman” in the Cairo Film Festival. Nehru did make amends when he made Sivaji the main host when Nasser visited India subsequently!.."

OBITUARY

A doyen among actors

SIVAJI GANESAN, 72, one of the brightest stars on the Tamil film firmament for nearly five decades, passed away at a Chennai hospital on July 21. With more than 300 film roles to his credit, he inspired a whole generation of artists, virtually creating a new school of acting.

His acting career, which began at the age of eight, could be divided into three phases - 1936 to 1952, when he acted only on stage; 1952 to 1974, when he acted for the big screen and also gave stage performances; and 1974 to 1999, when he acted only in films. (His last film was Pooparikka Varigirom.)

V. SUDERSHAN

Villupuram Chinniah Ganesan, or V.C. Ganesan, was born on October 1, 1928, in Villupuram, which was then in Tamil Nadu's South Arcot district, to Chinnaiapillai, a railway employee and freedom fighter, and Rajamani, in whose name he was to launch later a successful film company, Rajamani Pictures.

Smitten by a street drama about Kattabomman, the feudal Polagar of Panchalan-kurichi who defied the British, young Ganesan became enamoured of acting and abandoned school when he was in Class Two. Forsaking home, he joined the Madurai-based Bala Gana Sabha drama troupe first, and later the troupe run by Ethaartham Ponnusamipillai. From child roles he graduated to female roles and then on to the "raja part", the role of the hero, as it was known then. The first landmark in his career was his portrayal of the Maratha warrior Sivaji in the drama ''Sivaji Kanda Samrajyam'' written by Dravida Munnetra Kazha-gam leader C.N. Annadurai, who went on to become the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. E.V. Ramaswamy, the patriarch of the Dravidian movement, acclaimed his stellar performance and referred to Ganesan as 'Sivaji' Ganesan. This was in 1946. The sobriquet stuck.

The big break in Sivaji's career came in 1952, when he acted as the hero in Parasakthi, a film directed by Krishnan-Panju. The dialogue, written by DMK leader and former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi in fiery and flowery prose with a surfeit of alliterations, the hallmark of Karunanidhi's style, came powerfully alive in a stunning performance by Sivaji, unparalleled in Tamil cinema. The monologue uttered as an address to Tamil Nadu in the earlier scenes and the courthouse speech in the closing stages of the film were classic instances of delightful oratory. A star had arrived in Tamil cinema.

The Karunanidhi-Sivaji combination made an explosive impact. The writer's rich prose, brimming with vitality, was given emotive and impressive expression by the actor. Every film in which they collaborated was a success. Notable among them were Thirumbi Paar, Manohara, Kuravanji and Iruvar Ullam.

Sivaji had an extraordinary flair for dialogue delivery. He pioneered an exquisite style, diction, tone and tenor. (Later other scriptwriters, such as Solaimalai, Sakthi Krishnaswamy, Aroor Das, and 'Vietnam Veedu' Sundaram, were to provide dialogue that tapped his diction, which rendered the Tamil language euphonious.)

A generation of actors and aspirants modelled themselves on his style. Despite this mass attempt to imitate and emulate him there was no replicating or duplicating the veteran. This stylish, dramatic presentation was essentially considered to be a feature suitable for the stage rather than the screen. A device used frequently in his earlier films to give an outlet to his histrionic talents was the inclusion of short historical dramas - on the Chera King Senkuttuvan, Akbar's son Salim or Jahangir, Socrates, Emperor Asoka among others - within the main plot, often dealing with a social theme.

His acting ability received maximum exposure in the bantering arguments Veerapandiya Kattabomman has with his British adversaries in the eponymous film. Sivaji received the best actor award for this role at the Afro-Asian film festival held in Cairo in 1960.

Sivaji's talents were by no means restricted to his oratorical prowess and powerful dialogue delivery. He could emote all the nine moods (navarasas) realistically. This skill found scope in all his films and came out into full play in his 100th film Navarathri in 1964, in which he played nine different characters signifying wonder, fear, compassion, anger, gentleness, revulsion, romantic passion, courage and happiness.

His other commendable multi-role performances were in Uthama Puthiran in a dual role, and Deiva Magan and Bale Pandiya in which he did three roles each.

Sivaji Ganesan played a wide range of characters, from god and king to commoner. Whether it was the mercurial Chola emperor Raja Raja Cholan, Lord Siva, Lord Muruga, Saivite saint Appar, Vaishnavite saint Periyaalvar or Tamil poet Ambigapathy, Sivaji was always at his scintillating best. He was equally splendid in contemporary roles and stereotypes making every performance a memorable one.

Superb among them are his roles as Bharatha in Sampoorna Ramayanam, the patriotic lawyer Chidambaram Pillai in Kappalottiya Thamizhan, the nagaswaram play

Sikkal Shanmugasundaram in Thillana Mohanambal, Prestige Padma-nadha Aiyer in Vietnam Veedu, Barrister Rajanikanth in Gauravam and Police Superintendent Chaudhury in Thangapadhakkam.

Despite achieving stupendous success on the screen, Sivaji remained faithful to his first love, the stage, and acted in plays for decades. Scenes from some of his films remain etched in memory: the 'Yaaradi Nee Mohini' song sequence in Uttama Puthiran, where Sivaji's mannerisms would remind present day movie-goers of Rajnikanth's style; the physically challenged Ponniah in Bhagapirivinai, the inimitable gait as the fisherman in Thiruvilayadal and the clash with Tamil scholar Nakkeeran in the same film; his duel over artistic superiority with Padmini in Thillana Mohanambal; particularly during the 'Nalanthaana?' song sequence; and the Othello drama sequence in English with Savithri as Desdemona in Iratha Thilakam.

Sivaji had an astounding capacity to synchronise lip and body movements to playback renditions making it appear as if he was actually rendering these songs. Singers Chidambaram Jeyaraman, Tiruchi Loganathan, Seerkazhi Govindarajan and A.M. Raja in the earlier days and T.M. Soundararajan later gave voice to his songs, making the singing and speaking voices blend as an indivisible entity.

Several directors, among them Krishnan-Panju, T.R. Sundaram, L.V. Prasad, B.R. Panthulu, T. Prakash Rao, A. Bhim Singh, K. Shankar, A.P. Nagarajan, A.C. Tirulokchandar, Sridhar, P. Madh-avan, K.S. Gopalakrishnan and K. Vijayan, directed Sivaji in vastly different roles, bringing out his versatility.

It was Sivaji's tragedy that as the years progressed, opportunities for him to display his acting talent became scarce. But he did act in cameo roles, often stealing the scenes, as in Thevar Magan, which won him the National Awards Jury's Special Jury award in 1993. (Sivaji, incidentally, declined the award.)

Ironically, the man hailed as a great thespian never won a national award for best actor. He was conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke lifetime achievement award for meritorious service to Indian cinema in 1997.

THE film journal Pesum Padam gave him the honorific 'Nadigar Thilagam' (doyen of actors). Sivaji was honoured with the titles Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan and the Tamil Nadu government conferred on him the Kalaimamani award. The French government honoured him with Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Literature.

Sivaji served as a member of the Rajya Sabha. But despite his vast popularity as a film actor he was not successful in politics. Starting out as a Dravida Kazhagam and later DMK activist, he crossed over to the Congress in the late 1950s. When the Congress split in 1969 he stayed with the 'old' Congress of Kamaraj. After Kamaraj's death he joined the Congress led by Indira Gandhi. In 1989, he formed his own Tamizhaga Munnetra Munnani and struck out alone only to suffer a humiliating defeat in the elections. Later he functioned as leader of the Tamil Nadu Janata Dal for a while, but soon ceased to be active in politics.

Essentially a creature of the stage when he entered films, Sivaji Ganesan brought that baggage with him and superimposed it effectively on the film medium. Yet his brilliant acting made this so-called violation of screen norms the accepted norm of film acting. Generations of Tamils learnt to appreciate the beauty and power of the Tamil language because Sivaji Ganesan breathed new life into it.

Sivaji was no stranger to Sri Lanka. His movies ran to packed houses in the island. Several of his films were adapted and remade in Sinhala. Substantial portions of Pilot Premnath and Mohanapunnagai were shot in Sri Lankan locales with Sri Lankan artists Malini Fonseka and Geetha Kumarasinghe in the lead female roles.

Sivaji Ganesan, Bondarchuk film library to be set up

Film, art and literature buffs in the city can soon look forward to interesting exchanges in these areas between India and Russia.

As a first step, the Indo-Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industries, and Russian Centre of Science and Culture will set up Sirkazhi Govindarajan – Tchaikovsky Indo-Russian Dance and Music Illam, a music club that will organise dance and music performances on a regular basis.

From Salsa to Bharathanatyam, and Russian folk music to Carnatic, every month would see a medley of performing arts from both the countries, beginning July 24.

“It is a wonderful initiative and will be the right platform to integrate Russian and Indian art forms. For artists, the awards will be an international honour. And for Russians who want to learn Indian dance and music, the club would be the right guide,” said singer Sirkazhi Sivachidambaram, son of Sirkazhi Govindarajan.

In line with the success of Tamil films in Russia and the popularity of Russian directors in India, the Chamber has plans to set up ‘Sivaji Ganesan and Sergei Bondarchuk Indo-Russian Film Service Bureau,' which would screen Tamil and Russian movies every month. Following the screenings, discussions about the film and the filmmaker by celebrities from Tamil film industry would be held.

Film Library

Indian and Russian film festivals would become a regular affair after setting up the bureau, said the Chamber Secretary P. Thangappan. A ‘Sivaji–Bondarchuk Film Library' will be set up as part of the bureau and the library would feature DVD collections of Sivaji Ganesan and Bondarchuk films.

Apart from movie screenings, the bureau would facilitate movie trading between the two countries. The bureau would also institute ‘Sivaji Ganesan' awards for Russian artists and ‘Bondarchuk' (director of ‘War and Peace') awards for Indian artists, in an attempt to bridge the movie culture of both the countries.

A literary forum at the Russian Centre of Science and Culture would also take shape shortly. The Pushkin-Jayakanthan Indo-Russian Literary Forum' would serve as a platform to recognise and honour Tamil writers and Russian writers who have contributed for Tamil works.

“We seek to familiarise Russian art and culture among Tamils and popularise Tamil films in Russia. This way, both the countries that have a rich history in cinema would learn about each other,” Mr. Thangappan, who is also the secretary of Indo-Russian Friendship Society, said

Fans go back in time to pay tribute to Sivaji - The Times of India

CHENNAI: It was a flashback to the world of Tamil cinema of the '60s. And it came as a reminder of the huge fanfare that actor Sivaji Ganesan, popularly known as 'Nadigar Thilagam', still enjoys. On Sunday, a large crowd gathered at the Sri YGP auditorium in T Nagar to inaugurate the Nadigar Thilagam Film Appreciation Society.

"It is impossible to forget a great actor like Sivaji Ganesan. We have launched this society to make sure that Nadigar Thilagam and his work continues to remain relevant in this day," said dramatist Y Gee Mahendra, president of the society. The event also marked the golden jubilee of the Sivaji film 'Parthal Pasi Theerum', which was released on Pongal day in 1962 and is the story of a soldier in the British Indian army. The film also starred Gemini Ganesan, Sowcar Janaki, Savithri, B Saroja Devi and a young Kamal Hasan in a double role.

"Sivaji always thought of Sowcar Janaki as classy and sophisticated," said producer Ramkumar Ganesan, Sivaji's eldest son. "That is why he cast her in the role of a modern woman in the film 'Pudhiya Paravai'. Before that Sowcar had only acted in homely roles," he said.

Sowcar Janaki, 80, lives in Bangalore and drove down to Chennai for the event. "I was lucky to get an opportunity to act with a great actor like Sivaji," she said, blushing, when T K Ramamurthi, music director of 'Paarthal Pasi Theerum' declared that she was one of Sivaji's favourite actors. "Not many know this, but Sivaji used to refer to Sowcar Janaki as 'Darling'," he said.

The inauguration of the film appreciation society was followed by the screening of 'Parthal Pasi Theerum'. Fans erupted into thunderous applause at the mention of every Sivaji film as dialogue writer Aroordhas recounted other significant films that belonged to Sivaji's 'Pa' series, hit films that started with the letter P. "I first wrote dialogues for the film Pasamalar, which went to be a huge hit. Later, I ended up writing for five Sivaji films in the same year," said Aroordhas, who has written for 28 of Sivaji's films.

The society, which has been launched in association with Bharath Kalachar plans to screen films once every two months on a Sunday. "We want it to be a discussion forum where we can talk about Sivaji Ganesan's acting and critically analyse his films. We will also try to bring people who have worked on these films to share their memories," said Mahendra.

Book Review: Autobiography of Actor-Politician Sivaji Ganesan

Akin to Brando’s story, we have Sivaji Ganesan, hailed as the Marlon Brando of Indian stage and screen, who seized an opportunity of his life time in 1946, at the age of 18, when he was offered the role of Maratha king Sivaji, for a play authored by C.N. Annadurai (Anna) – a role that was rejected by M.G. Ramachandran (MGR), at the last moment.

Brando and Ganesan

Marlon Brando (1924-2004) in the USA and Sivaji Ganesan (1928-2001) in South India were talented contemporaries. Both set the definitions for what acting is, both on the stage and in movies in their cultural milieu. Both were school dropouts; while Brando left school during his high school years, Sivaji Ganesan never even completed his primary schooling. Both blossomed as talent that has been unseen and unheard of; Brando in the hands of Elia Kazan, and Sivaji in delivering the scripts of Anna and Karunanidhi. In late career, both had their critics; Brando was lampooned for his ‘method acting’ and Sivaji was critiqued for his ‘overacting’. One day in 1962, both Brando and Ganesan met for lunch and exchanged pleasantries in Hollywood.

The motif of a new face seizing an opportunity of a lifetime when the chosen star rejects the role in stage or cinema is a recurrent theme. In his autobiography, Marlon Brando noted that his big break on stage in 1947, for a Tennessee Williams play, A Streetcar Named Desire, came when he was the third choice as the lead male cast. Two established movie stars, first John Garfield (1913-1952) and then Burt Lancaster (1913-1994) had to turn down the role. Then, the director and producer of the play felt that Brando was ‘probably too young’, but left the final decision of selection to playwright Tennessee Williams, who wanted Brando to ‘have the role’. A Streetcar Named Desire play opened in New York on Dec.3, 1947 and a 23 year old Brando became the talk of the town.

Akin to Brando’s story, we have Sivaji Ganesan, hailed as the Marlon Brando of Indian stage and screen, who seized an opportunity of his life time in 1946, at the age of 18, when he was offered the role of Maratha king Sivaji, for a play authored by C.N. Annadurai (Anna) – a role that was rejected by M.G. Ramachandran (MGR), at the last moment. Here are excerpts from Ganesan’s reminiscences of his lucky break:

“Anna wrote the play Sivaji kanda Hindu Rajyam. Originally, M.G. Ramachandran was chosen to play the role of Sivaji and the costumes tailored for him. For some reason MGR turned down the offer. With hardly a week left for the play, D.V. Narayanaswamy, the stage manager, was extremely worried. He told Anna that MGR had refused to act this role. Both had a brainstorming session to find alternatives…Anna thought a beard would look good on me. He put the question to me very directly. ‘Ganesa, are you willing to act as Sivaji?’ I perspired profusely at this question…Anna asked me to try it out. Moreover he had the confidence that I could do it. He handed me a 90 page dialogue manuscript and adviced me to go through it. He was going home and on his return would audition me for the role. Anna gave me the manuscript at eleven in the morning and he came back around six in the evening…I managed to memorise so much in merely seven hours. ‘You are Sivaji’, he announced, his voice choking with emotion. If I could memorise a 90 page manuscript in a relatively short time, it was only because of my passion for acting, you could even call it addiction…There were only four days left for the play to be staged and all the costumes tailored for MGR had to be downsized to suit me. They had to pad cotton in some places to correct the size difference as I was a mere boy and was slightly built at that time.”

Thus, at the age of 18, Ganesan received his moniker ‘Sivaji’ in 1946, and comfortably carried it to this tomb. “I am not very sure of the day of the week, but I know I was born on October 1, 1928.” said he. That day was a Monday, and on that day his father Chinnaiya mandrayar was arrested for taking part in an anti-British campaign in Villupuram. This autobiography of Villupuram Chinnaiya Ganesa Moorthy (Ganesa Moorthy was his original name) first appeared in Tamil on Oct.1, 2002, on the first posthumous birthday of Sivaji. It consists of a question and answer format. The questions were formulated by Dr. T.S. Narayana Swamy, and Sivaji provides reminiscences of his notable life. The English version appeared five years later on Oct.1, 2007.

For a comparison on the influence of maternal love, here is Brando’s reminiscences: “The money that came with A Streetcar Named Desire was less important to me, however, than something else: every night after the performance, there would be seven or eight girls waiting in my dressing room. I looked them over and choose one for the night. For a twenty four year old who was eager to follow his penis wherever it could go, it was wonderful. It was more than that; to be able to get just about any woman I wanted into bed was intoxicating.” Brando was unlucky in that his mother turned out to be an alcoholic and he suffered badly from lack of maternal love and direction.

For Sivaji, his mother Rajamani Ammal, though illiterate had a mother’s common sense in directing her prodigious son’s family life. Ganesan reminise’s in gratitude: “The film Parasakti was released in 1952 and I got married the same year…My mother decided that it was time for me to tie the knot and arranged to get me married to my cousin’s daughter Kamala…The simplicity of the wedding made it a revolutionary ceremony. I was married on May 1st 1952 at Swamimalai, a place close to my cousin’s house. Sri P.A. Perumal, annan MGR, Sri Karunanidhi, the poet Kannadasan, Smt. T.A. Maduram, Sri. S.V. Sahasranamam, along with directors Krishnan and Panju attended my wedding…Nowadays much emphasis is placed on celebrating weddings extravagantly with glitz and glamour. My wedding was devoid of that and my total expenditure was only five hundred rupees! I confess that I did not have the means to spend more.”

For the uninitiated, P.A.Perumal was the producer of Sivaji’s first movie Parasakti, who stood by his talent when other influential personnel (like AVM’s studio boss Meiyappa Chettiar and director P. Neelakandan) in the studios griped about him. Karunanidhi was the script writer for the movie, veteran Sahasranamam was a fellow actor in the movie and Krishnan-Panju were the directors of Parasakti. The mention of 500 rupees for his wedding seems to be a dig and rebuke to the well-publicized wedding of his grand daughter N. Sathyalakshumi to Jeyalalitha’s then adopted son V.N. Sudhakaran, that made news on Sept.7, 1995.

In a profession rife with polygamy, paramours, dalliances and affairs, Sivaji practiced monogamy and attributed his mental health and vigor to his wife’s devotion and love. His sincere compliments to his wife Kamal were, “She is the captain of our home and my boss. I will act only in accordance with her wishes.” The book is dedicated to Kamala, who died on Nov. 3, 2007.

Hard Work

In the first edition (1963) of their landmark book, Indian Film, Eric Barnouw and his protégé S.Krishnaswamy, allocated three paragraphs to Sivaji’s role and relevance to Tamil movies. (Krishnaswamy was the son of K. Subramanyam, one of the pioneers in Tamil films.) However, in the second edition (1980) of the same book, the three paragraphs had been condensed into a single paragraph. For record, I provide the first, adulatory paragraph that appeared in the first edition below, to reflect the importance of Sivaji the actor in the then Madras in late 1950s and early 1960s, when his influence was at its peak.

“In Madras one of the most astonishing phenomena is film star Sivaji Ganesan. Among southern film stars only M.G. Ramachandran, the star associated with the Dravidian movement, has in recent years come close to him in status. For some years a leading Madras theatre has shown only films starring Sivaji Ganesan. This has not been difficult, for he stars in innumerable films. For some years it has seemed risky for any producer to produce a Tamil film not starring Sivaji Ganesan. [italics, as in the original.] He produces films himself but also appears in the production of others. He is always involved in many projects simultaneously, dolign out a morning of shooting time here, an afternoon there, while numerous producers wait nervously for his next moment of availability. It is common for films made under these circumstances to be in production one, two or three years, or even more. For some years in the Madras film industry scores of film workers – producers, directors, actors, writers, technicians – have at all times been dependent on the favorable decisions of Sivaji Ganesan. His nod secures financial backing. Because of his central importance, script, cast and choice of director are all subject to his approval. During his precious appearances at the studio he works with speed and precision, and can be so charming to co-workers that he is adored by all. Then he is off again, leaving anxiety as to when he will return once more. In appearance he does not especially conform to any hero pattern. He is, on the contrary, squat and stockily built. But his fine voice has a large range of expressiveness, and he can play such a variety of roles that almost any starring role is offered to him – comic or tragic – without regard to suitability. Such is his standing, so precious his time, that no director dares direct him, and his scenes are often completely out of key with other portions of a film. Seldom has a substantial talent been used so recklessly – or so profitably. He has amassed a fortune and carries on well-organized and well-publicized charities.”

Sivaji concurs with the profile of him provided by Barnow and Krishnaswami. Before his first invited trip to USA in 1962, he notes: “I had signed up for the film Bale Pandiya. I went into the studios on the second of the month and left the sets on the twelfth after completing the film. I probably hold the world record of completing a film in eleven days time. I had acted in three roles in the film and annan M.R. Radha in two.” In another page he had stated: “During the period of my life when I was extremely busy, the studios would assign rooms exclusively for me during the different shifts. I worked in three shifts (7am-1pm), (2pm-9pm), (10pm-5am). I used to work twenty hours a day, and on odd days return home for four hours of rest. Many a time I would run through the day’s schedule and move to the next studio to begin the following day’s work. I compensated for my sleep deprivation by napping whilst traveling in the car and during breaks.”

An Autobiography in Three Shots

A technical dictionary defines a shot as ‘what is recorded between the time a camera starts and the time it stops, ie., between the director’s call for ‘Action’ and his call to ‘Cut’. The three common shots are, (1) A long shot or establishing shot, showing the main object at a considerable distance from the camera and thus presenting it in relation to its general surroundings; (2) A medium shot, showing the object in relation to its immediate surroundings; (3) A close-up, showing only the main object, or, more often, only a part of it.

The gamut of this autobiography consists of 155 questions and answers. Among these, the first 49 questions provide the long shot, covering Sivaji’s life from childhood to the release of his first movie Parasakti in 1952. In this, the hero remembers with gratitude those who helped him in kind and cash – drama troupe leader Yathartham Ponnuswami Pillai, his senior actors Kaka Radhakrishnan, M.R. Radha, N.S. Krishnan, MGR, Anna, Karunanidhi, producer of his first film P.A. Perumal and the directors of Parasakti, Krishnan and Panju. Following 63 questions offer a medium shot, covering the period from 1952 to 1970, when Sivaji’s influence in the Tamil movie reached its peak. He remembers affectionately his guru in politics, the Congress leader K. Kamaraj, and a few in the movie world – like producer/director B.R.Banthulu and directors A. Bhimsingh and A.P.Nagarajan. Final 43 questions spanning the period from 1970 to 1993 were more or less close-up shots, when Sivaji dabbled in politics and became a flop. He also nursed a hurt feeling that his contributions to the Indian movie world had been slighted by national politics, indifference and professional politician ‘termites’ (his term), who used him for their wants.

In Politics

Sivaji Ganesan’s political career lacked direction and commitment. From 1946 to 1957, he was aligned with DMK leaders like Anna and Karunanidhi. He says: “I have never been a member of the DK or DMK. No doubt, I accepted the ideologies of Anna and Priyar and tried to spread their message. I accepted the principles for which the party stood, but did not become a member.” Then from 1957 until 1975, Sivaji’s mentor in politics was Congress leader Kamaraj. After Kamaraj’s demise, he shifted his alliance to Indira Gandhi, until her death in 1984.

Indira Gandhi nominated Sivaji, for the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) in 1982, after this post became vacant following the death of Hindi actress Nargis (1928-1981). A bout his performance at the Rajya Sabha, Sivaji reminisces: “If I spoke my mind just became I was an MP, it would lead to squabble. I went to Delhi to represent the woes of the film industry. I attended the Rajya Sabha sittings, spoke about the ideals of Kamaraj at opportune moments and instigated others to follow them. What more can one do?” After Indira Gandhi’s assassination, Sivaji’s ties with the Congress Party soured, which he attribute to tale carriers in the party who are professional politicians. Strangely he never mention a Congress Party big-wig’s name in Tamil Nadu (the likes of R. Venkataraman, G. K. Moopanar, Kumari Ananthan, V. Ramamurthi, Maragatham Chandrasekhar and P. Chidambaram) in his recollection.

About Rajiv Gandhi’s selection and tenure from 1984 to 1989, Sivaji’s thoughts are as follows: “I also played a part in making Rajiv Gandhi a politician and worked to make him the prime minister. One should not forget that, should one? Prior to the elections I met Rajiv Gandhi at the Governor’s residence. I told him rather pointedly that there were many termites in the party and that he must get rid of them, otherwise he could not become the prime minister. Rajiv Gandhi’s face reddened on such a delicate issue being brought out in the open. Quick to seize advantage, certain persons of our State thought that the moment was just right to eliminate me. They passed on some unsavoury information to Rajiv Gandhi about me. They made me a scapegoat. I thought to myself that I did not need this party and if I stayed, they would humiliate me further.”

On Jan.28, 1988, Sivaji quit his ties with Congress Party that sustained him for over 30 years. Soon after that, he established his own party named Tamizhaga Munnetra Munnani (TMM) on Feb.10, 1988. He considers this decision as one of his mistakes. “Many of the people with me were professional politicians. They had to remain in politics necessarily to make a living. I was compelled to start a party for their sake, although I did not require it.” Egged on by those who pampered him, his TMM party contested the January 1989 Tamil Nadu state legislative assembly elections, in alliance with one faction of AIADMK (that of MGR’s wife Janaki Ramachandran). Of the 49 TMM candidates who stood for election, none were elected. Sivaji himself lost at Tiruvayaru constituency to DMK candidate Chandrasekaran Durai by a margin of 10,643 votes. He notes, “The votes that I secured came from people of another party. It is true that I was defeated. This was a big disappointment and a very difficult situation that I faced. What could one do? When we take wrong decisions, we have to face disappointments.”

Later, Sivaji dissolved his party and on invitation from his friend V.P. Singh (later to be prime minister), he joined the Janata Dal and functioned for a while only to quit later. His advice to artistes with political inclinations were: “Be a friend to politicians but do not become a politician. Do not become a member and get caught in the web…Remain a singer, don’t become the song…this is my message.”

Plus and Minus

The plus points of the book include, (a) a memorable assemblage of retrieved old photos of stage plays and clips of movie stills, (b) an appendix providing a listing of Sivaji’s 10 plays, staged by his troupe Sivaji Nadaga Mandram, 287 movie titles and another 18 movie titles that featured him in a guest/honorary role. A notable demerit of the book is the absence of an index, a common omission in Tamil books.

I located a slip in Sivaji’s famed memory. He had noted that on his way to USA in 1962 as a guest of cultural exchange program, he first landed in Rome. “I was scheduled to join His Holiness the Pope for a meal, but unfortunately the Pope died a week before my arrival and I did not get the chance to meet him.” The fact is that Pope John XXIII died not in 1962, but on June 3, 1963.

Though he had seen three generations of performers from age 7 to 70, Sivaji had been diplomatic on commenting about the performances of fellow artistes – actors, lyricists, music directors, playback singers, script writers and directors. His comment was: “I am an actor and it would not be ethical to comment on another performer. I will only say that he or she performed well but will never comment on anyone’s ‘bad performance’.” It appears that he never had his likes and dislikes. To the question ‘What was your salary for the film Parasakti?’ Sivaji had replied: “The highest salary I got those days was 250 rupees per month. This was my remuneration for Parasakti. I received 25,000 rupees for each of the other projects. The 250 rupees salary was an honorarium and the 25,000 for my expertise as an entertainer. As Sri P.A. Perumal was instrumental in giving me the first opportunity, I agreed to a small remuneration from him.” That was in 1952. One would be curious to learn, how much he earned for his 100th movie, Navarathri (1964), 200th movie, Trisoolam (1979) and for his final 287th movie Pooparikka Varukirom (1999). Information of his earning when he was at his peak are sadly missing.

On completing the 250 page book, one gets a feel that much has been left out in this autobiography. May be, the question and answer format adopted has a role in such omissions. Proper, penetrating questions may have been omitted for reasons of causing inconvenience for those who are living. Sivaji’s taste on sporting interests (wild game hunting) had been noted. But we are left clueless about his taste for books and authors – how big was his library? his taste for music and movies (actors, directors and technicians) in other languages. Not much information was forthcoming on the business angle of his cinematic involvement in Tamil Nadu. A few of Sivaji Ganesan’s professional associates (such as MGR, Karunanidhi, poet Kannadasan, director C.V. Sridhar and script writer Aroordhas) have left their impressions in Tamil. Among those I have checked, quite a few details on Sivaji presented by Sridhar and Aroordhas in their memoirs, are missing in this autobiography.

To sum up, as an actor Sivaji Ganesan was a class act, as a politician he was a flop. As an autobiographer, Sivaji’s performance – like many of his movies – provides glimpses of some class in a flop, leaving much to be desired. Eric Barnow and Krishnaswamy, in the 2nd edition (1980) of their book, Indian Film, summed up on Sivaji: “He could view his own eminence objectively. Those who sought his favour, he said, had mixed feelings toward him. They wooed him but would also like to destroy him. Asked if the dominance of the star was good for the industry, he said without hesitation that it was not.” Ganesa Moorthy the gentleman, when he passed away on July 21, 2001, took to his grave the hurt feelings and the misdeeds of those who had benefited from him and who attempted to destroy him. The $45.00 price I paid for the book in net purchase from a New Delhi vendor seems marginally off-base for a 250 page book, and the price has not been inserted in the book. But for fans of Sivaji, it is a good memento to cherish.

Post Drunkenmunk on Tue Aug 06, 2013 9:40 am - Courtesy NET

Thanks appji for these shares.

appji had asked me to post here. I will first begin with an introduction to my Sivaji rasanai (because folks may genuinely wonder how I like Sivaji). Like I did mention in another thread on IR, I was a kid in the 90s and not even born in the early 80s and hence had no chance of a first hand experience of rasichifying Nadigar Thilagam's many classics. My dad though, born in the late 50s, was pretty much bang in NT's era. He often mentions an interesting anecdote on how when he was a teenager in 1975, after completing PUC, his hometown Dindigul re-released Karnan. Like now, it drew packed houses even then (of course that was a generation which would even marvel at an NT poster for hours and so did not need digitization as an incentive to watch his films). He was watching the film again scrounging money from paati one weekday (paduchaachu, college admit vara varaikkum veetla vetti). He spotted his periappa, who was the starting seed for NT fandom in our household, that day who had bunked work (own hotel, so avurE Raja, avurE Mandhiri) and had come to see the film on the big screen. That perippa thaatha made his kids NT fans and his nephews in our family (my dad, his brothers) got along watching NT films. They were the definitions of rasigargaL who would be lost in an in-depth analysis and digging deep, sub-textual rasanai. However, they could spot quality from a country mile away. Hence appreciating NT was not a tough job for most of them, unlike city bred youth today (my sorry breed) who have more of a pretense than rasanai but refuse to appreciate a towering talent like NT. So dad, spotting his uncle that day, moved near him and they started chatting and watching the film. Into the second half, chatting stopped and as the final reels came on, both got engrossed in the film and by Ullathil Nalla Ullam, dad felt some moisture in the towel on his uncle's lap. Turning aside, he spotted his uncle shedding a bucket full of tears LOL


From such a family do I hail. Weekends on Jaya or Raj showing Thiruvilayadal; and dad will sit down and watch. Like any curious kid, I would watch too. Navarathris would have channels showing Saraswati Sabatham, Thiruvarutchelvar and the likes and I must confess, alongside the several Amar Chitra Katha books that dad bought in my childhood, these films stoked an interest to know the stories than watch and appreciate NT. It was this way that I started watching NT films.


But like any kid till the late 80s-early 90s would, I was into Rajni. Even today, a part of me is a Rajni rasigan whose over the top heroism, charisma and panache (in the serious roles also early on) appealed to me. Off late, his later films are a guilty pleasure and I feel comparing him to an MGR w.r.t image tells only half the tale for Rajni is a way better actor and second only to Kamal from his generation imho. Even down to the 2000s, I was into Rajni more than Kamal. Towards the late 2000s, as I came out of teenage, a bunch of friends were an inspiration to dig deeper into world cinema. Onnuthayum vuttu vekkala. From Coppola to Bergman on to Kubrick down to Ray and on to Kurosawa, nalla uzhundru peraNdOm. Coming back to Kamal films (Aboorva Sagodharargal till Mumbai Xpress) around 3 yrs back, I stood mildly amazed at what he could do within mainstream Tamil cinema without compromising on his vision. Rajni's films moved 5 steps back and Kamal was the writer/creator/actor. Of course, Rajni the actor/performer still enterprises.


It was here that revisiting the ubiquitous Sivaji classics, as they were regularly played back home, proved eye-opening. The trips to such films as a child held back interest in the films and watching it for NT now was something else. Summa Robert De Niro va thooki saapadra talent idhu nu purunjudhu. A quiet respect also crept in at what stunning nuance, depth and understanding he could bring to every character.

Like the posts appji shared mention, I often get irritated on twitter with folks my age (not all of course but most) for whom 'subtlety' and underplay appeal more than Sivaji's hyperdramatizations, which they call overacting. Like Gounder says in Indian, "rasana ketta mummy daddies". If one is not able to spot the layers and subtlety in NT's many portrayals, who is the loser here? And how else, other than ignorance, does their refusal to appreciate NT for want of subtlety come across? A Julius Ceasar from Sorgam is summarily dismissed as overplay, without realizing that the final wriggling-like-a-worm is because Caesar was originally an epileptic patient. The actor is there to service the character and its emotions that are written first than our narrow definitions of what acting is. I've had to endure words like "Nagesh is a better actor than Sivaji", "Nagesh underplays better and hence earns my appreciation better", "can you show me a set of videos where Sivaji has underplayed the navarasas?" (express reason for that first post) "kashtam", "Mohanlal's underplay in Iruvar >>>> Sivaji's so called underplay in Thevar Magan" and "I have been scarred for life watching Thillana Mohanambal due to my mother who likes it". All this made me bring my appreciation for Sivaji on blogs and why dismissing Sivaji for want of underplay is lazy appreciation tasting only a smidgen of the artiste selectively on the surface. After the first blog, a couple of them raised white flags and yet asked if I could agree Nagesh was equal to Sivaji. Upon refusing, it was back to square one and I have been invited to a cup of coffee with a few to discuss why they feel Nagesh is better than Sivaji LOL idhu aavuradhilla.

Coming to the point, I was giving the history of the incident and geography of the accident to derive some mileage to post something on Sivaji first up and take it further in the coming weeks.

THE SONG " PAARTHA GNYABAGAM ILLAYO"

It is a song running for 242 seconds called Paartha Nyaabagam Illayo (our own internalization of Frank Sinatra's Sway With Me). NT gets a screen space of roughly 50 seconds in this song, about 1/5th the running time. Yet, what stands out for me in this song is NT. The sheer range he brings in from a disinterested audience to one converted to being head and heels in love (lust) over the performer at first sight is truly stunning.

The song starts with NT lighting a cigar and puffing into space. He is an audience awaiting a performance and he is relaxing (absolutely no emotion). His tuxedo, cigar and the high end club he is in tells us that he is rather affluent. Dancers begin their dance. He awaits. Just his screen presence there conveys that he is waiting. The performer enters (an urbane Sowcar) and begins singing. NT just tilts his head up (to have a look at the performer. Just a tilt conveys to us that he wants to see who it is). Is she singing to him, kindling an old story? We might never know and considering his affluence and her "vampish" character, it's likely. But that's one possibility. She could just be singing to the audience and the guy could just be taking it straight from her to him. So as she sings, he begins to settle into the ambiance, smokes and is soaking the atmosphere and gauging her. At around 1:10, he isn't looking at her, but from him looking at the table and puffing smoke into the air, it is evident he is chewing her lines and ruminating on them, a light titillation on his face being evident. As she proceeds into her song, at Neela Nadhi karai Oram and Naan Paadi Vandhen Oru Raagam, he is impressed. He is sucked into her performance now. His eyes don't waver or blink. His hands take the cigar to his mouth and the wine to his lips. But no, even his eyebrows are on her. She has him in her zone with her performance now. At around 2 minutes as she finishes her stanza, he smiles. A kid-like smile, biting his finger. This is a kid that has seen a toy it is smitten by and wants it. What a terrific transition from wanting to see to wanting. With just the eyes and body language. Restrained all the while. At 2:16, she moves to her right. On cue, NT ever so lightly tilts to his left. His bloody eyes follow her! How the bloody hell did he bring it on screen with such a perfect stitch! Masterly direction by Dada Mirasi and terrific editing by N.M. Shankar? Maybe. Or just a moment made possible by NT? Take you guess. But to be able to see where the shot is cut for another actor and to take over from where the other person left off at 'take' with this amount of subtlety takes excellence of the first order. At 3:00, as she sings Un manadhai Kel adhu sollum, he is rubbing his fingers on his lips, his eyes not moving from her. He is infatuated. His animal instincts have been kindled here. He tastes his cigar and licks his finger awaiting the next shot from her. He raises a toast from him to her. From being sucked into her till now, in about 7 shots on him at over 2 minutes of the song in close ups and pan ins for about 30 seconds in all on him, he hasn't moved his eye from the stage (her). Mini masterpiece! Finally, he smokes the cigar and is clear that he wants her.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go40tKa90yI

As much as I like a Rajni or a Mohanlal or a Nagesh, they can't smoke a cigar with a fraction of the style NT does (not even Rajni), convey the range of emotions by just moving his hands (a lesson on how to use hands for actors), eyes and face with the subtlety NT brings. Sorry guys, you gotta move over. In Tamil cinema, and this can be arguably stretched to Indian cinema, within the mainstream, depth in acting will mean NT. Not that other achievers are bad. Everyone has their space in the pantheon. But in terms of acting, he will remain a notch above the rest. Untouched, in a grand way. Purunjavanukku cut out. PuriyAdhavanukku get out.